Family
by Stefkitten
Summary: Story centered around the younger sister of Kento, Rinfi. Rinfi is learning she is not a normal 14 year old and may share a similar destiny with her brother and the other Ronin Warriors. Setting is before 2nd OAV.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Do it."

"I don't want to."

"How can I believe you when I cannot see it with my own eyes?"

"Fine."

Clara is my best friend. Right, she's me only friend so she is automatically my best friend. So what?

We're sitting on the school's roof after school. Both of us are in no hurry to get home. And today, I have decided to let Clara in on a little secret of mine.

I stare at the empty Hello Kitty lunch bag sitting between us. I think one word: up. I lift my finger slightly, and the lunch bag floats in the air for a minute before I let it drop.

"That is awesome," says Clara. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Not that long," I lie. Not that long really means almost a year. I can move and lift things with my mind. Not really something you tell the truth about.

"You can't tell anyone, Clara."

"Like I would," she says. "And besides, who would I tell?" I imagine all the people Clara and her big mouth could tell. I am now a little worried.

Who would I tell? The question sticks to the back of my mind on my walk home. It is pretty impressive on my part that I kept this a secret from my family for so long. Two little brothers, a little sister, and two hyper parents at home. My older brother, Kento, is rarely home so he doesn't really count. I could have horns growing out of my head and it would take him a week to notice. He would first ask if I had gotten a haircut.

He and the other Ronin Warriors are our fighting evil or whatever. I'm not supposed to know that. My family doesn't know. All they know is that Kento received a birthday present from Grandpa. Some ceremonial armor or something. And that is mostly a lie too.

No one remembers what happened almost a year ago. The city was overtaken by darkness and an army of evil. Nothing. Like nothing happened.

I remember. I was at school when it happened. Everyone was taken. I hid. I hid damn good. In the beginning, I felt guilty about my family and the others, but how could I have been any help captured too? Survival. I knew I needed to survive. And I did. And I can't brag about it because no one remembers it. Anyways, the Ronin Warriors saved everyone. Everyone returned home like nothing had happened.

But shortly after their return, I began noticing changes in myself. Changes in what I could do. I could lock doors while still in my bedroom. I could hide the TV remote from my brothers so I could quietly read without ever leaving my room. If I thought it, it would happen. Realistic things, of course, like moving stuff. Not wishes or anything ridiculous.

I thought nothing of my powers at first. They made life in my loud, busy home tolerable. However, after I began to have nightmares, headaches, and nosebleeds, I began to care about the origin or cause of my powers. Couldn't blame it on puberty since I matured faster than the girls at school. Don't get me started on that Hellish part of my school career. I learned few things in middle school. Girls suck. Boys suck too. Classmates basically suck and are spawns of the devil.

The walk home is uneventful. Traffic fights. People talking too loud on their cell phones and Bluetooth headsets. People walking and texting and bumping into things. Some people may find the city loud and crowded. I don't. I can blend in and hide and observe.

I throw my current worries aside as I step up the front steps to my house. It is going to be more hectic than usual very soon at the Rei Fuan house. The Festival of Fireflies is tomorrow night and luck would have it, our family restaurant will be catering the event. Mom is most likely going over the food options right now for the millionth time or trying to find something more ridiculous for me to wear at the event.

And perhaps more importantly, Kento is coming home tomorrow with the rest of the guys. The guys will be staying in our guest rooms for the festival and for as long as they want or until summer break is over. Everyone believes the guys have been away on a field trip or study abroad program or something. Yeah right. More like fighting evil or something.

Summer break begins tomorrow after school and then I will be away from the institution which keeps me away from home for eight hours a day, five days a week. My heart is broken, and I cry a little inside.

Mom and Dad are absent from the scene taking place in the front yard. They are the restaurant most likely. Will be there all night.

Chun Fa is running through the sprinkler spraying mostly the sidewalk in front of the house. Yun and Mei Ryu are wresting in the yard, arguing over some comic book hero. Mei Ryu is right. Yun just wants to fight about something. Chun Fa gives me a big wet hug before I am able to pull myself through the front door. I feel the two wet handprints on the shirt of my school uniform. I am thankful it is casual Friday tomorrow. I do not feel like washing my uniform.

There is a letter on the fridge from Mom. Of course. Mom and Dad will be home late as usual. I am to try on my festival dress that is in my room on the bed. And I am to march back outside and keep an eye on my younger siblings. The woman has eyes everywhere, I swear.

I grab a Coke Zero from the fridge and march my ass back outside. I sit on the porch bench, curled into a ball, and read. In cases like this, I miss Kento. He would be out there playing with them. I prefer to read and watch from afar. I love them, but it is very easy for me to have too much of them.

The boys' wresting match is becoming to little too heated. A quick wave of my index finger and the boys are dosed with the sprinkler which has suddenly changed direction. The boys' fight cools off and they agree that rolling on the wet lawn is more fun than fighting on the wet lawn.

I smile not at the thought of their filth messing the house, but of the thought of how much control I have gained over my powers. With a flick of my hand or fingers, I could control things quite easily now.

"What are you reading?" asks Chun Fa. She is now standing in front of me. I can see her toes wiggle. She is struggling so hard not to give me another big wet hug.

"A story book," I reply.

"Any princesses?"

"Lots."

"You're such a terrible liar, Rinfi," Chun Fa says. "You're reading one of those not fun science books." At six years old, the kid could read people better than any hard boiled private eye.

"Fine. I'm reading a book about genetics. No princesses. What gave me away?"

"I don't know," she says. "I just know you're lying. You're silly."

"No, you are." I say, showing my maturity.

Chun Fa runs back into the yard to her sprinkler. I continue to read. The book is a collection of case studies on persons with bizarre genetic mutations, gifting these people special attributes and habits. I think most of the cases in the book are BS. None are even comparable to what is happening to me. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

I try to keep my sighs of disappointment and embarrassment to myself as I stare at the fat cow in the full length mirror before me. This dress is meant for someone taller and with smaller boobs. Someone like Clara, not her fat sidekick.

The dress is made of red and orange silky fabric and is tied off with a blue belt. It is too tight in my chest and at my hips. A stuffed sausage. A plump little doll. You name it. I look like it. I have the feeling that if I wear this dress tomorrow night, my tombstone will read: Rinfi Rei Fuan. Died too young. Bitch should not have worn that dress.

I manage to maneuver out of the dress without ripping it and fling the accursed thing onto my bed. I quietly curse the thing and slip into a tank top and boxers. The rest of the house is asleep. Mom and Dad finally got home at midnight. It is 1:30am. I am not tired. I have not needed much sleep for the past couple of weeks. I haven't been tired or hyper, just awake and content.

I open my bedroom window and climb out the window and onto the roof. The vines growing on the side of the house supported me when I was nine and still support my fat ass now.

I sit on the roof, my back against the chimney, and watch the night world. The glow of the city blocks most of the stars overhead but not all. A few birds flap past. A few cats fight. The drunk two doors down finally stumbles home after a night of drinking, self-pity, and complaining about his wife. His wife is waiting for him at the front door. He drunkenly tells her he loves her and that she is the best thing that has ever happened to him. I feel a frying pan to the head is in his future.

I enjoy the show and enjoy gently swaying the tree in the backyard back and fourth with my hand. The flowers from the tree gently fall to the ground. Something is different with me. The powers, I know, duh. But something else is different with me. I feel different. I feel calmer like something missing has been filled in me. Now, I am content with watching flowers fall in the backyard.

I remember when I first used my powers though unintentionally. I was taking Chun Fa downtown to get her a new formal dress for the big family get together that happens every five years. Every Rei Fuan in a hundred miles would be there, eating and sharing battle stories.

It was my duty, as the eldest sibling at home, to take Chun Fa. Kento was of fighting evil. Chun Fa ran out into traffic after she let go of the pink balloon she had cried and whined for while we were looking at dresses. I ran to grab her and pull her out of the street. The oncoming car slammed to a stop before us. Not because of breaks but because the car had smashed into something I couldn't see. The front end of the car was totaled and the wind shield was blown out.

I grabbed Chun Fa and ran as far and fast as I could away from the scene. I didn't know what had happened then. I know now. I protected Chun Fa. Somehow, I stopped that car from killing the both of us. The following day, the city was overtaken by an evil army, so no one remembered a thing.

I can't replicate what had happened that day. I can't destroy or stop things, no matter how hard I try or how hard I focus. I tell a glass to shatter, it does nothing. I try to stop moving cars, nothing.

I see a shooting star, probably an airplane, before I call it quits for the early morning. I make a wish. Please God or shooting star or fairy godmother, get me out of festival work tonight. I am wishing upon a star. How lame. Damn Disney movies.

I fall asleep a little before 3am and wake at 6am. I feel like I have gotten twelve hours of good sleep. I am fortunate to not have a nightmare.

Mornings are interesting in my house. One bathroom for the children. One bathroom for the parents, away from the children. That says it all.

I grab a Special K bar for breakfast and am out the door before Mom can ask about the damn dress/torture device.

School is the same as always. Boring. I am waiting for the accelerated program to begin soon. I have already tested out of my current subjects. Clara probably could too, but she sleeps too much in class.

We spend lunch at our usual spot on the roof. Clara pressures me into trying new things with my powers. I am able to set off teachers' cars' alarms down in the parking lot. We enjoy watching the teachers fight with each other on their smoke breaks over who's messing with their cars. Damn punks.

While we are laughing, it dawns on me why I am content. Maybe it is because these powers are mine and only mine. No siblings have stolen them, destroyed them, or lost them. No one besides Clara knows about them. They are mine, not made for someone else like that stupid dress.

"What are you thinking about?" Clara asks.

"Maybe you're right," I say. "Maybe I should stop trying to figure this thing out and just enjoy it. Go with the flow and all that crap."

"Holy crap. I was right," says Clara. I pour a little of my soul out here and that is all she hears. And people wonder why I keep to myself.

The school bell finally rings, dismissing students and teachers for summer break. The teachers beat the students out of the building. Clara can't stay. Something about visiting her Grandmother or something. I stay on the roof, trying to stall the inevitable.

The parking lot is now bare. No students in sight. It is quiet and peaceful. I could fall asleep up here, if I were tired. Still, I close my eyes. I am jolted to my feet by the loud roar.

I peer over the edge of the roof and see Whiteblaze sitting there, waiting for me. The guys are back. I double check. No one in sight.

"I'll be down in a sec!" Remember Rinfi, no point in fighting it. I leap off the building.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I am able to slow my fall and land gracefully on my feet and one hand for balance. I stare up from where I have just seconds ago been. A small step towards conquering my fear of heights. I think I aged the poor beast about ten years. He licks me and scolds me for scaring him.

My walk home is much quicker and eventful today. It's amazing how quick a walk home can be when I am not walking but riding a tiger. People act as if they have never seen that before. Excuse me.

There are no siblings in the front yard. No sprinkler. I can hear Kento inside the house. The front door is closed. I have forgotten how loud big brother is.

Whiteblaze barely fits through the front door. I can hear Kento in the living room, chatting it up with Mom, Dad, and the sibs. Whiteblaze joins them. I go upstairs.

I run into Rowen in the hallway. He is done unpacking his things in the guest room. He looks amazing, glow and heavenly light emitting from his very being. An angelic choir sings overhead as he brushes his hair with his hand. I look like shit and smell like a public school: cheap body spray, apathy, and diet .

Rowen asks how I have been. I lie through my teeth. Things are great. I am great. Great great great. Can't wait for the festival tonight. I cannot comprehend the rest I say to him. My mind is going faster than my mouth and I imagine I sound like a stupefied fangirl who has just met her vampire heartthrob.

Fortunately, Sage emerges from the guest room and saves me from making a bigger idiot of myself. I greet him, trying not to stare. He is handsome, but I fear I will turn to stone if I stare at him for too long. Rowen and Sage walk back down the stairs to entertain the family.

Cye is standing against the other guest room's door. We really have too many guest rooms. Judging by the amused look on his face, he has been standing there for sometime.

"Hello Rinfi."

"Cye!" I give him a big hug. Cye smells like the beach. Sun and clean water. I don't give people hugs. But Cye is not normal people. Cye is my quiet, honest, respectful, and fair skinned older brother/sister. Cye has been an extended child of the family since Kento first brought Cye home for dinner when they were kids. He being here means some balance to the chaos of the household.

"You got your haircut," he says. "Looks nice." I cut my shoulder length dark brown hair into a hassle free pixie cut last week. I was sick of my hair and what else am I suppose to do during chem. lab besides play with scissors?

Cye asks about school and life as we sip tea in my room. Cye has brought me a bouquet of summer flowers for the empty vase on the table in my room. Now, it looks like life can survive in this dark cave. False promises.

It is one of the few perks of being the eldest daughter of the family: my room. My room is as big as the master bedroom of the household, only there is one occupant. Chun Fa used to share the room with me, but she got her own room last fall. I could entertain company like Cye, Clara, or Whiteblaze since I am such a social butterfly.

Whiteblaze blasts through the door and wedges himself between me and wall. I don't know why Whiteblaze likes me so much. My personality? My aroma of catnip? I have only met the big cat once before. That was the time I first laid eyes on Rowen. Rowen Hashiba. Hmm. Smart. Good looking. Only child. Blue hair. What's not to like?

"You're thinking about Rowen, aren't you?" Cye asks.

"Absolutely not."

It is 5:30pm. The festival starts in about two hours. I am locked away in my room with Whiteblaze. The tiger takes up most of the floor.

I have raided the sewing kit in the attic that was a birthday present from Grandmother in her hopes that I would (with all my education) grow up to be a respectable homemaker. Grandmother could kiss my respectable ass. And so could this stupid costume dress.

I have scissors. I have a spool of thick thread. I have a boost of confidence (not really, but lying to oneself from time to time can be healthy).

"Pray for me, Whiteblaze. I'm going in."

"Roar."

The collar is cut open. The sides are cut open and re-sewn corset style. The side leg opening of the dress is open longer and wider. If I had to wear this stupid thing, it is going to be comfortable. And if my true love is walking around this festival, I better be comfortable to look at.

I am running late for the festival. I ride Whiteblaze up to the main food booth to be sentenced my punishment for the evening.

"What did you do to your dress?" asks Mom.

"Working on getting you grandchildren."

I am to walk around the festival and pass out menus, flyers, and carry out menus for the restaurant. It could be worse, but I am having a hard time imaging something worse than having to pass out stupid pieces of paper to strangers.

"This sucks, Whiteblaze," I say. "I hate festivals and I hate not being able to leave one early." The tiger nods his head and continues to herd me around the festival.

Fortunately, I do not have the menus for long. Having a giant tiger walking besides me draws onlookers, so I just throw the menus onto them. I know there is probably more menus back at the booth that need passing out, but I am not going back there. Mom needs to chill. People know our restaurant. They love our food. Winning for everyone.

I stay on the far side of the festival, avoiding the family booth. I see Mei Ryu and Yun chasing each other through the crowds of people. If they are here, then Kent—

"Rinfi!" exclaims Kento, grabbing me from behind and lifting me off the ground. "Man, have you been hiding! How are ya, lil sis?"

"Let go of me, Kento! I am trying to work."

"Yeah," he laughs, putting me down. "About as much as I am."

The others are there so I say hello again. I make sure to say hello to Ryo since I hadn't yet and I apologize for my constant stealing of Whiteblaze.

"He does what he wants," says Ryo. "And besides, he seems to like you."

"Yep, guess he's the only one," says Kento. I wail him in the shoulder and almost break my hand. "Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."

"You ate five minutes ago," adds Cye. They all head in the direction of food, leaving me behind to wonder how the five guys haven't killed each other off yet. Those crazy boyfriends.

As they're walking farther and farther away, I can see Rowen turn around and glance back at me.

"How sad is it that that just made my night?" I ask the tiger.

"Roar." Translation: pretty sad.

"Yep."

With about an hour or so before the final ceremony of the festival, I head home. No sibs to watch. The sibs are the festival's problem.

I walk home barefoot because these stupid flats are pinching my toes. My glow-in-the-dark nail polish shines eerily on my toes. I talk to myself and Whiteblaze as I walk home. No one is home. The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful for once.

I'm sitting on the roof again, staring at the few stars. Whiteblaze is sitting under the back tree, rolling the flower petals that have accumulated in the back yard for so reason.

I stay out there on the roof, doing nothing but breathing and staring. Whiteblaze suddenly stands up and stares at an intruder in the backyard.

"Hey, Rinfi," says Rowen from the backyard. "How did you get up there?" I cannot speak. I point to the side of the house where the vines grow.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks. I shake my head. Rowen walks to the side of the house and starts to climb the wall. I know damn well he could just jump up here. I wonder if I could jump up here. I haven't tried that yet. Oh my God, he's coming up here. How do I look? Does my breath smell? Do I smell? How's my hair? Jesus, I smell like the festival.

Rowen sits next to me on the roof. He smells like heaven.

"What are you doing here, Rowen?" I coolly ask.

"I saw you leave by yourself and got a little worried. Cye said you'd appreciate the company." He was worried about me? He saw me leave. He was watching me. He noticed me. I don't even care that Cye is butting into my fantasy love life. Rowen was worried about me. I could take care of myself perfectly fine but who cares?

"And besides," he adds. "I didn't really want to watch Kento eat his body weight in pork noodles."

"He's going for another record?"

"Yep." Rowen stares out into the sky for a minute, not saying anything. I dare not disturb him in his own little beautiful world.

"Hey, Rinfi," he finally says. "Why did you leave the festival early?"

"I like sitting up here," I reply. "I can watch the festival from a reasonable distance and be at peace. The roof is sort of my own little hideaway."

"Roar."

"And Whiteblaze's too," I add. I can see the red and yellow paper lanterns floating in the distance.

"What is that?" asks Rowen.

"It's the final ceremony of the festival. Those lanterns are supposed to be fireflies or something. Brings good luck or peace or whatever," I explain.

"I can see why you'd want to watch it from a distance," he says. He watches the one dollar paper lanterns clutter the sky. I watch him.

"Hey, Rowen?"

"Yeah, Rinfi?"

"What is it like to be different from everyone and not be able to tell anyone?"

"You know about our armors."

"Let's just say I know and remember everything about you guys. What's it like? I mean, you guys saved the world and no one can appreciate."

Rowen takes a long pause before answering. I lean closer to him, getting anxious to what he might say.

"It's like nothing really. Unexplained and indescribable. My armor is part of my life. It's like that with the others too, including your brother. For better or worse, we're linked to one another."

"I could never ask Kento," I say. "It's an older sibling contract. Kento is suppose to be the face of the family and I'm suppose to work behind the scenes, acting like nothing ever phases me. No questions allowed between the two oldest siblings. Show any uncertainty and the younger ones will eat you alive and take over your bedroom."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in one sitting, Rinfi," laughs Rowen. I know I'm blushing.

I can sense he wants to ask me something, but he doesn't. Perhaps why I am asking him about living with secret powers. I don't know how I would answer that.

"Thanks for keeping me company, Rowen."

"No problem, Rinfi."

We watch the paper fireflies till they fade off too high in the sky to see. Grayish blue clouds move in and the few stars we have to look at disappear. The guys return home and so does the family.

I go to bed with a warm feeling in my body. I close my eyes in hopes of dreams of blue hair and kind words, but for a moment, I sense something else beneath the surface of my desired dreams for the night. I shake the uneasiness away and drift to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I am child, standing along the river near the summer home my family stays at during the summer breaks of my childhood. Kento is supposed to be watching me. And he is doing a great job, only I run off to be on my own while his back his turned for one second. I like to chase the fish in the river. And I do chase them.

I see another little girl by the river. She has long, black hair tied into pig tails and large, blue eyes.

I ask her if she is lost. With the exception of me, little children should stay with an older sib or a parent. She tells me she was lost but has found her way to the place she was looking for. She doesn't speak like a little girl. Her voice sounds much older.

Her name is Oura. My name is Rinfi Rei Fuan, I tell her. Momma says to say my whole name when introducing myself so people know I am part of the Rei Fuan clan. Family honor or something.

We sit by the river and talk in conversations only children would understand. Oura is strange. She speaks but her lips do not move. Her words are in my head. But I am a child and think nothing of it.

I ask her how she can do that. She tells me magic. Magic does not exist. Even I, a five year old, know that. I ask her to show me how she does that magic trick. She laughs.

"It's not a magic trick," she says. "It's just magic. That's who I am."

"What are you doing here by yourself, Oura?" I ask her.

"Because _you're_ down here and I want to be _your_ friend." She stands up and dusts off her little red kimono dress.

"I have something I want to share with you," she says. Now, Momma tells me once a week that I should not talk to strangers and that I should not accept gifts from people I do not know. But I am a child and happy to have another girl to talk to.

"Rinfi! Rinfi, where are you?" I can hear Kento calling for me. I feel bad about leaving him. I start to walk back up the hill.

"Coming! I'm coming, Kento!" I turn back around to tell Oura that I have to go and if she wants, she can come to. Momma would not like it that another little girl is out alone. But Oura is gone. I turn left and then right. She is gone.

I continue walking back up the hill. Oura is in front of me. Her eyes are even larger. I am uncomfortable looking into them. She touches my forehead with the tip of her middle finger.

I stumble back and fall on the ground. Oura continues to stare at me. Her body fades away, but her eyes linger for a second or two before fading away.

I call for Kento. I am scared. Then a sharp pain overcomes my body. My head swells with pressure and a sharp pain snakes it way through my fingers and toes. I kick and scream in pain on the ground. Blood is now on my new dress. My nose and ears are bleeding.

"Kento! Help me!"

The doctors say I had some sort of seizure. I stay in the hospital for a few days for observation. I don't tell anyone about the little girl. Not even Kento. Who would believe me?

Kento reads to me since the TV in my room is not working and I have no homework to do. He is not the best reader, but I am happy he is staying with me. He leaves at night though, when visiting hours are over.

The hospital is creepy at night. I can see the hallway lights from the space under my room's door. I have only one nightlight by my bed. I can hear the nurses laughing and chatting outside the room.

I am too scared to sleep and staring into nothing but the darkness in my room scares me more. I can see nothing except my bed from the nightlight's light. I hear something move.

In the corner of the room, I see her large blue eyes. The outline of her body slowly emerges from the darkness. She comes closer and closer.

I wake up panting and wanting to scream, but I stifle me desire to. I frantically turn on the lamp on the nightstand and take a quick visual inspection of the room. Damn, that little girl is creepy.

I see her standing in front of my door. I blink, and she is gone. A lingering image from the dream.

I collapse back onto the bed. Whiteblaze's head sits on the side of my bed, licking my hand. I see blood on my hand. Dried blood. Dried blood on my tank top and on my pillow.

I wash my face with a warm washcloth in the bathroom. I make sure all the dried blood is removed from my nose and ears. It has been a few days since my last nosebleed. Bound to happen again.

The house is still asleep. A family a heavy sleepers. I don't hear any noises coming form the guest rooms so I assume the guys are still asleep too.

I quietly haul my ass downstairs and grab a bag of baked Lays and a Coke Zero. I go out through the backdoor and climb up onto the roof. I am avoiding my room till sunlight.

I sit on the roof, chomping potato chips, and sipping my soda. In between gulps and chomps, I am texting with Clara. My cell phone is my child: precious, blinged out, and spoiled.

"R u awake?"

"Its 4:30am. What do u think?"

"Ur chattin it up with lonely guy in chat rooms?"

"U know me 2 well. What up?"

"Nothin. Bored."

"Bored? What bout blue? Cant b bored with dat in the house."

"Shut up. Hows grandma?"

"Old. It sucks here. Nothin 2 do."

"Shit. I did wake u up."

"Whatever. Idk what up with u but u should prob get some zzz. U worry me sometimes. Goodnight."

"Night." Yeah, sleep. That's what I need. I suck down my fears of another nightmare and jump off the roof. I curl up into Whiteblaze's thick, soft fur and doze up into an early morning potato chip nap under the back tree.

No nightmares. No dreams. I wake up to the birds chirping at the loud cat sleeping under their tree. Cye is standing at the backdoor.

"So this is what happens when you are on your own, then? You rough it out in the wild?"

"Didn't want to sleep on the roof. That would be dangerous, Cye."

"And what's wrong with your room?"

"Nothing's wrong with my room."

"What happened to your shirt? Is that blood?"

"Nothing happened to my shirt."

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing, Cye. Just a nose bleed." And this is our conversation from the backyard to my bedroom door.

"Since when do you get nosebleeds?"

"Since now, Cye. Geez." I close my bedroom door. I hope Cye does not tell anyone.

I grab some clothes and slowly open the door. Fortunately, Cye is gone and the bathroom is free. I see Yun on the other end of the hallway, spying like I am. We both run for the bathroom. I slide past him and slam the door. He manages to utter two words before the door slams in front of him.

"You suck!"

I grab a piece of toast for breakfast, kiss Whiteblaze goodbye, and step out the front door. My left foot touches the porch. Chun Fa has a tight grip.

"I want to go to the park today, Rinfi," she says.

"Why can't Kento take you?" We both glance into the kitchen.

Kento is consuming his weight in bacon. Cye is sipping morning tea and commenting on Kento's eating habits. Sage is staring at his plate of food, trying to devour it with his mind. Rowen is reading the newspaper. And Ryo is staring out the kitchen window, dreaming of being elsewhere.

Mom and Dad are still asleep. Yun is now arm-wrestling Kento for the last piece of bacon. Mei Ryu is playing with Whiteblaze's tail, playfully swatting it to the left then back to the right.

"Help me," says the cat's eyes.

"Get your hat," I tell Rinfi.

So now, instead of sitting in a cool, air-conditioned library or store, I am sitting on a park bench, drinking an iced coffee, and telling my body not to sweat in the heat. It is hot. It is muggy. It is sticky. It smells like little kids.

I could be reading, researching, or hell, even shopping. My outfit today screams "let's go shopping!" not "let's go to the park!" Big floppy hat. Chic purple sun dress. Metallic gladiator sandals. Oversized zebra sunglasses. I actually look like I give a damn today. Rowen staying at my home has nothing to do with it, I'm sure.

My phone vibrates and chirps.

"Where u ?"

"Park playground hell. U?"

"Late morning bingo, bitch. Where else?"

Before I can finish texting Clara back, my phone chirps again.

"What r u doing outside?"

"House a madhouse. Lil sis wants park."

"What a sweet big sis!"

"F*** u, hoe."

"Luv u. xoxo."

Chun Fa is now sitting next to me on the bench. "I love the park," she says. "But I'm all parked out."

"Want to get some lunch?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

We go to some noodle stand downtown near a couple of little boutiques. I order Chun Fa a large bowl of chicken noodles. If she so happens to carb out and want to go home and nap, so be it. She slurps happily on the noodles while I sip on another iced coffee at a small iron table in the shade.

I know, we should have gone to the restaurant my family owns, right? Wrong. I ain't waiting tables or running the hostess stand. I know my responsibilities to the family business and those responsibilities are away for customers, crunching numbers. It's tracking the restaurant's finances and spying on the competition. I'm the one who created the purchasing system the restaurant uses. I'm the one who makes sure receipts aren't lost. I am even working right now. Chun Fa is slurping on competition's noodles. I tell Mom repeatedly that we need to get some food carts.

"How are they, good?" I ask Chun Fa.

"Not enough noodles," she says. I thumb that into my phone. Working on a Saturday.

I feel something chill the air around us. It's brief, so I think nothing of it. But then someone calls me name. I look around but see no one I know or anyone trying to get my attention. I can still feel someone watching us though, like when you know someone is staring into the back of your head.

Clouds move in fast, dark ones. Masses of birds fly off of the buildings.

"You done, Chun Fa?"

"Yep."

"Okay, let's get going." I take Chun Fa's hand and we start briskly walking home. In my other hand, I am texting Kento that something isn't right. My phone loses signal before I can send the text.

I now hear screams. People are running. The ground is shaking. I pick up Chun Fa and start to run. Cars are slamming on their breaks, most not in time. Windows in the buildings are shattering. Car alarms are ringing.

In the crowd of running people, someone runs into me. I hit the ground hard, Chun Fa still in my arms. I get up and run to the side of the sidewalk in front of an alley. I lean against the brick wall. My legs give out and I slide down the wall.

My head is bleeding. I am dizzy. I can hear Whiteblaze roaring in the distance. The guys are here. It's happening again.

A window shatters above us. Glass comes pouring down. Chun Fa screams. I wave my arm and the glass is thrown into the brick wall across from us. I can hear Chun Fa talking to me, but her words are fading away fast.

I watch the Ronin Warriors fight a creature in the street. Shadows dance and attack them from the buildings' walls. The creature controls them and disappears and reappears in them. The creature wields a long, thick silver whip.

The creature is powerful, defeating each Ronin Warrior who challenges it in combat. The guys stop and summon an armor I have never seen before. Ryo's armor turns white and Whiteblaze's fur darkens and the tiger wears armor housing two swords.

Through the flames of the fire emitting from Ryo's armor, I can now see the creature. It is woman in black armor. Her face is hidden under a silver facemask. Her black hair tied tightly into a bun on the back of her head.

Ryo unleashes a firestorm from his swords. The woman dodges this and strikes Ryo with her whip. Ryo's helmet shatters. The woman laughs. Her laugh echoes through the street, which is now empty of civilians.

Her whip wraps around the waist of her armor. Two long swords form out of her arm armor. She raises the blades and charges Ryo, who is still stunned over the damage to the white armor.

I scream for the woman to stop. She does. She faces me, and then flips backwards into the shadows, disappearing.

I feel my body being rocked back and fourth. Chun Fa's voice is becoming clearer and louder.

"Rinfi. Rinfi, please wake up." I wake up to her and a recovering city.

"I am up, Chun Fa." Chun Fa hugs me hard. I suck in a deep breath of pain. My body is sore. I must have hit the ground harder than I thought. I touch my head. Sore but no longer bleeding. A throbbing headache in its place.

I push myself up off the ground, using the wall to prop me back up. I am too tired and sore to carry Chun Fa so I grab her hand tightly and we walk.

"What happened, Chun Fa?"

"Everything went dark and scary. And then it stopped. I heard people saying we had had an earthquake or something."

"You didn't see any people fighting, did you?"

"Nope. Just people running and screaming and stuff. You were having a nightmare." Had I dreamed the fight? The fight in my dream had occurred on the other side of the city. Something is not adding up but my head hurts too much to put anymore thought into it.

"Oh thank God? Honey, they're here!" yells Mom out the front door. Chun Fa lets go of my hand and runs to her. Mom grabs her and holds her high in the air. Dad joins then a few moments later. I pass them and walk up to my room.

I do take a quick visual inspection of the household. No Kento or the guys. "A dream, huh?" I ask to no one.

I ask the same question again, lying on my bed. No, I am too tired to think about this. Too tired to…

SO I GOT MY BOOTS ON. GOT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF LEATHER AND I'M DOING ME UP WITH A BLACK COLOR LINER. AND I'M WORKIN' MY STRUT, BUT I KNOW—I answer me phone. It's Clara.

"OMG Rinfi. I just saw what happened on the TV. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What happened on the news?"

"They say like an earthquake and city wide power outage, that's what. Were you downtown when it happened? God, you sound tired. Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, you did wake me up. Yes, I was downtown with Chun Fa when it happened, and yes, you did wake me up."

"You said that twice."

"Talk later." Click. I am still too tired for much. It's past 6pm.

I can hear the nuclear family downstairs but still no older brother or friends. I open my bedroom window for some fresh air to wake me. I can hear people talking in the backyard. Sounds like a meeting. Sounds like the guys.

I slowly climb up onto the roof. The guys are in the backyard, standing in a circle. Cye, Kento, and Ryo face the house. Sage and Rowen face the back tree. Cye notices me on the roof but does not alert the others. I wink. A small smile cracks at the corners of his lips.

"Whoever she is, she has an armor that's comparable to the Inferno armor."

"We don't know who she is or where she came from."

"Maybe Mia would be able to find something about her?"

"Maybe, but we would have to go to her." They did fight someone and I witnessed that fight. But on one mentions me in the conversation. No one saw me watching the battle? But if it wasn't a dream, why did Chun Fa have to shake me awake?

"Man, it's a bummer that we have to leave."

"She knew are names. If any of us stay here or go home, our families are at risk. Your family is at risk right now."  
>"Wasn't Mia having computer problems?"<p>

"You're right. She's worried about losing all of her and her Grandfather's research."

"Maybe we should bring someone along who knows computers. Doesn't your sister know computers? It couldn't hurt." If only I could. I am only the vice president of the computer club at school.

"Then we'll have to explain to Rinfi why we are hiding out at Mia's place."

"She already knows about the armors."

"How do you know that?" So Rowen can't keep a secret. It sounds like Rowen is trying to persuade Kento into letting me come with them. Rowen wants me to come along. He can't live without me. Hmm…

"Roar." Back to reality.

"Sounds like Whiteblaze wants Rinfi to come too."

My phone chirps. Clara's twitter feed reads: Grandma, put your top back on! It's not the end of the world yet!

It is suddenly very quiet. I look down to find six sets of eyes staring up at me. 1 surprised. 1 angry. 1 wondering how I got up there. 2 amused. And 1 wanting to lick my face.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

So I'm sitting in the middle seat with Kento on my right and Rowen on my left. Sage is driving. Illegally. No one cares. We're out in the middle of nowhere. Cye is riding shotgun and Ryo is riding Whiteblaze along the side of the Rein Faun spare family car.

"You knew the whole time," snorts Kento to no one in particular.

"You never asked," I reply to no one in particular.

"Never asked?"

"You've never been home."

"Never been home?"

"Don't make me come back there, you two," snaps Momma Cye. "So help me, I will have Sage turn this car around. I mean it."

After hours of driving through the wilderness, Kento can't let it go. What did he want me to say? I have bigger problems right now. Kento having his feelings hurt does not automatically move to the top of my list of worries. It's my feelings that are hurt. How come I don't get to ride Whiteblaze?

I fidget in my seat. We've been driving for hours, probably days. My knee keeps accidentally bumping into Rowen.

"I don't like long car rides either," he says. I'm too embarrassed to talk to him directly.

"Are we getting any closer, Sage?" I ask, peering over his seat like a five year old.

"We'll be there soon," he replies. And we are there soon. Not as soon as I would have liked, but I'll survive…barely.

This Mia girl must be wealthy. Her house is huge. It's nice seeing a home larger than mine. The large, white and traditional home sits in front of an equally large lake. Bitch has lakefront property, nice.

I grab my two large bags filled with computer supplies and clothes. Rowen offers to carry one of my bags while the guys walk up to the home like they live there. All Rowen needs to do next is offer to make me a sandwich and I would be pretty satisfied with my life right now. Unfortunately, he doesn't.

"Home away from home, huh?"

"Mia is family," replies Rowen. "She's like our older sister." Bingo. That's what I want to hear. No threat.

Mia is standing by the front door. She's definitely is the oldest person present. She's tall and lean and sports a cute little pony tail. I guess she's pretty. Big deal. I have personality.

"It's the guys!" yells a small boy from behind her. He comes barreling out and slams into Ryo. And then hugs Whiteblaze. And then Ryo for a second time. He looks around Mei Ryu's age and size. Wonderful.

"And that's Yulie. He's pretty much family too," adds Rowen.

"Great, another little brother," I snap before censoring myself. Sage, who has apparently been walking next to us, laughs at my comment. Sage laughing is like an eclipse. It's somewhat rare, but mostly something you want to look at without popping your eyes out. Everyone stops what they are doing to observe the rare occurrence. This rare occurrence is quickly over however, and Sage disappears into the house.

I don't really properly introduce myself to my two new extended family members. With them, I think I have around two million, more or less. Kento introduces me to them. I thank Mia for allowing me to stay in her home. I tell the little boy not to touch any of my things.

I find my guest room and quickly unpack. I have work to do and the quicker I get to work, the less I have to socialize.

I make the assumption that since Mia lives in such a large and expensive home, that her computer lab would be large and expensive. And it is, once upon a time back when people were hyped over being able to save a game in the new Zelda game for the brand spanking new Nintendo.

The computers are large, dusty bricks that could not be updated. The computer cords are torn and worn down, almost to the point of a fire hazard.

I spend the rest of the day cleaning and repairing cords and trying to back up data on the few working computers. I am able to take the room of very old computers and transform it into a room with one, somewhat old computer. I knew I could do it with a little luck, skill, and a hell of a lot of cussing.

I leave the room in search of caffeine. I have a massive caffeine headache. Either Mia drinks a shitload of Coke Zero like I do, or someone forewarned her to make sure she has it available in bulk. I'm not hungry even though I haven't eaten much today. Not tired. I just want caffeine. Addiction doesn't need a reason.

I think about just going up to my room. I can hear Kento and Cye arguing about something in their room. Nothing from Sage and Rowen's room. And nothing from Ryo's room. Poor guy must be real lonely. The tiger is staying in Yulie's room and purring up a storm.

I instead go out back and spice things up by not going on the roof but sitting down at the end of the dock over the lake. I punch open my soda can and sit there, sipping and staring at the numerous stars. I may even recognize a few constellations. I begin to dive into a deep internal philosophical discussion over the reasons why I stare at the stars so much. I am pulled out of this when Whiteblaze sits next to me. The little bugger must have finally gone to sleep.

"Roar."

"What do you mean I am avoiding the question?"

"Roar roar."

"Like I'm concerned about what is happening to me. I don't care."

"Roar."

"Fine. Maybe I am a little concerned about what is happening to me. I mean, I feel like, I don't know, like I'm somehow responsible for what has been going on. I feel guilty for some reason."

"Roar."

"And I'm concerned about the nosebleeds and ear bleeds I've been having." I should have probably gone to the hospital or something about my bleeding episodes. Probably. I am afraid of what I may be told. Need to stay in the hospital for observation. Your parents have decent medical insurance, right? I would be put on the medication that makes me sicker rather than better…again.

"Rinfi?" Cye sits next to me on the dock. I am sandwiched between big brother/sister and big cat. Cye's out here for either one of two reasons: One, Cye won the argument he was having with Kento. Or two, Kento fell asleep.

"I thought you'd be in bed by now. All the work you did today on short notice and all," he says.

"I managed to save most of her files," I say. "Cleaned and backed everything up. It wasn't that hard."

"I sure appreciate your help and I know the others and Kento do too." We all sit in silence for a moment or two. We watch the small waves row and row from the lake to the shore.

"So you really knew about us and our armors this whole time? I thought you would at least tell me before the others."

"The right opportunity never came up. I would have told you, Cye, if it had."

"But you told Rowen."

"That was different." Completely different. The stars were out. The moon was bright. Rowen was talking to me. I had to make the conversation intimate and meaningful.

I stare down at the water a few feet under my feet. I am surprised at how deep the lake is here, not too far from the shore. I wave one foot. The waves move a little faster and are a little bigger. I am playing with death. I am not the best swimmer. I live with three fears: the fear of great heights, the fear of drowning, and the fear of no Coke Zero or Diet Mt. Dew.

"I worry about you sometimes," says Cye, watching me shake my foot. "You run off into that own little world of yours more and more now."

"I worry about myself too," I reply. "I don't know what is wrong with me."

"Wrong? There's nothing wrong with you."

The waves under our feet are now stronger, faster, and bigger. Cye now notices my foot moving back and forth.

"There is something wrong with me, Cye," I reply. "I don't know what is happening to me." The weight of almost a year of secrets creeps up on me. The guilt of not telling anyone for so long what I can do and what I remember when no one else does. The thoughts of how others might react. Instead of telling people who would understand like the guys, I tell my girlfriend and use my powers to fuck with teachers' cars. The memories of the hospital and medications and sickness. I am once again a scared little child, hiding under the covers of her hospital bed.

I feel responsible for the recent attack yesterday and I feel scared of this guilt I am feeling. Why the hell do I feel responsible? Why me? Of all times, why now?

I am crying now. Cye is completely confused. He places his hand on my shoulder. Whiteblaze begins to growl.

"There is something wrong with me, Cye, and I should have told you because something has been wrong with me for a while now and I can do things and see things and I'm—" Whiteblaze's growl is finally loud enough for me to follow his gaze. I see Oura, the creepy little girl, standing on the shore across from us. I scream. The support beams of the dock snap, and we fall into the cold water.

I continue to scream under the water as I sink deeper and deeper. I frantically kick and wave my arms. Nothing. I am not a good swimmer. The water around me spins and spins and I feel like something is holding me there, wanting me to experience my mortality.

I gulp a lungful of air before Cye grabs me and pulls us to the surface. I gasp for air. Sucking in air and coughing up water. Cye swims us back to shore. I hold onto him for dear life. Cye carries me onto the shore and lays me on my side. I am still puking up water.

The guys come running up to us. How much have they seen, heard?

"What the hell happened?" asks Kento, kneeling next to me and lifting my head up in his arms.

"Not quite sure," says Cye. I feel him staring at the back of my head. "The dock just collapsed." Whiteblaze shakes off his fur.

"Not cool," says Kento, who took most of the hit.

"We heard a scream and saw you guys in the water," explains Rowen.

"That dock is not that old," adds Ryo. "Maybe Whiteblaze's weight brought it down."

"Roar." Whiteblaze is insulted.

"It's alright, Rinfi," whispers Kento, who knows of my fear of drowning. "You're out of the water now." If only Kento could whisper.

Sage is attending to me leg. My leg caught a nail from the dock as I fell into the water.

I turn my head away from Kento's chest and glance down the shore. She is there, now closer and on the same side of the lake as me. She is walking closer and closer, then her body dissolves and her eyes soon follow.

"Not again!" I scream and push myself up and away from Kento and run for the woods. I am not getting hurt again by her. No hospital. I'm getting the hell out of here.

I can hear Kento and the guys yelling at me. What's wrong? You shouldn't be running! Rinfi, get back here! Roar!

The woods are dark and damp. I can't see where I am running. My leg stings like a bitch. Don't care. Fear is keeping me going. But gravity kicks my ass. I trip on a fallen tree branch and fall onto my face.

My pant leg is now tangled and twisted into the tree branch. My right wrist hurts like hell. I fight with the tree branch and turn myself around in the direction I was running. Oura reappears, smiling. She lifts her hand out, like she is going to attack me again.

Sage leaps over me. He is in the Halo armor. Looks nice. Sage lifts his sword in front of his face. Through his blade's reflection, he sees Oura. He then lifts his sword higher.

"Thunderbolt—"

"Strike me and you strike her too," she says. Sage hesitates on his attack and glances back at me with a look that sarcastically reads "awesome"

The others show up in armor too. Oura is now visible to everyone. Sage must have rendered her visible or she just wants to be seen now.

Cye is holding me while Rowen tries to untangle me from the tree branch.

"Who is that?" asks Ryo.

"It's just a kid," says Kento.

"No," corrects Sage. "She's not a little girl. She's something worse."

"Then she's an evil kid. Iron rock crush—"

"Kento! You can't attack her!" But Sage's warning is too late. Kento unleashes an earthquake at Oura. Oura shatters into a large mass of darkness and reforms into the woman in black armor.

I collapse backwards, now completely flat on the dirt floor. I see Mia and the kid running towards us. I hear the guys fighting, I assume, an older Oura.

The pain I feel is indescribable. Every muscle and fiber in my body is being squeezed and pulled. So much pressure being exerted on my body. And then nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Why do you want to hurt me?" I am pressing down hard on the nurse call button.

"I don't want to hurt you," she replies. "I'm helping get back what was taken from us."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and me, Rinfi. We could have done anything. We could have ruled everything. But they took that away from us. They separated us. They shouldn't have done that."

Oura walks closer and closer to my bed as she continues her speech. Still no nurse. Oura is different from when I first met her down by the river. She's speaking with her mouth. Her face more expressive. The magical, safe feeling about her is gone. Something sinister has taken its place.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say.

"I spent so much time looking for you. They thought I would never find you. But they were wrong. Dead wrong. And this is how you repay me for finding you? You resist me and make me hurt you? Just let me in, Rinfi, and this will all be over quickly and painlessly."

I feel a familiar pain begin to spread through my body.

"No!" I scream. I am no longer scared of her but angry. "I don't want you here and you're not hurting me!" Oura screams in pain, holding her head. I scream in pain, also holding my head. Then Oura dissolves and does not return.

The light flicks on. A nurse rushes into the room. She calls for help. Blood trickles down my bottom lip. I have bitten my tongue.

I wake up to sunlight streaming from the window. I feel hung over. Sage is sitting next to the bed. The soreness of my body distracts me from appreciating waking up to _that _looking at me.

"We were beginning to worry that you'd never wake up," says Rowen. I turn my head. Oh my God, I am waking up to Rowen. Oh my double Gods, I am in Sage and Rowen's room.

Sage places a cool washcloth on my forehead.

"Don't move around too much," he says. "You'll reopen your wounds, and I spent all night wrapping them."

"You've been out for two days, Rinfi," says Rowen.

"What happened? Where are the others?"

"The woman vanished again. Hasn't reappeared yet and the guys are out getting some dinner. You thirsty? Want me to get you something to drink, Rin?"

"That would be great. I'll have a Coke—"

"Water. She'll have water," interrupts .

"Right. A water," says Rowen with a wink. Rowen leaves.

"How did you know? I mean, about the little girl?" I ask Sage.

"I sense something around you. Felt it when I first saw you in at your home. Something is following you. Very persistent."

"What is she?"

"I don't know. Mia is researching about the girl and that black armor."

"I mean what do _you_ think? You saved me Sage and showed me that am not completely insane. What do you think she is?"

"A demon."

"A demon? I have a demon following me?"

"Yes. You probably encountered her when you were young and wouldn't remember it." Well, he's half right.

"And…what if I remember encountering it as a child?"

"Hmm…" Before Sage can reply, Rowen walks into the room with a glass of water and a can of Coke Zero.

"One sip ain't gonna hurt her," he says before Sage can object. I drink down the glass of water and take one sip from the soda can. The can is now only a quarter full.

"You had everyone scared," says Rowen. "First, you take a swim in the lake and then you go running off into the woods. And there's something out there that wants to hurt you."

"I was a little scared myself," I reply. "And I don't think she only wants to hurt me, not now anyway." Rowen looks like he wants to ask me something but he holds it back.

"I don't know," I say. "Whatever it is, I don't know."

"Hmm…" they both say.

"I think you know more about what is going than you lead on, Rinfi," Rowen finally says. "But who am I to argue with an injured friend." Friend? I am friend. Is this a good or bad thing?

Sage carefully changes my bandages. I'm beyond embarrassed. I'm in nothing but my pajama boxer shorts and a tank top. And its cold. The bandages still have blood on them. And after two days of beauty sleep, I am still tired.

Rowen leaves to get me some more water.

"You're lucky to be alive," Sage says after Rowen leaves. "This would have killed most people. Make sure to give Kento a hug when the others return. He hasn't slept at all. He blames himself ten times over for what happened. The trip out for food is mostly for his benefit." I remember that Sage has a younger sister around my age. His older brother side is showing.

I close my eyes and nudge my head further into my pillow. I hate sleeping on my back, but I have no choice. And I'm too tired. Before I doze off, Sage tells me to fight my nightmares. How does he know Oura is in my nightmares?

"Lose your mind, lose your body," he says. "She will tell you that you are equals. You're not. She's only as strong as you imagine her to be."

Sage tightens my new bandages and I fall asleep to his words. I fall asleep, knowing she'll be in there…somewhere.

I lay in a field of tall light color grasses that sway back and fourth from an invisible and nonexistent breeze. The sunlight is warm and casts an orange hue on the world I have entered.

I hear Chun Fa laughing in the distance. She is off to my left, playing with one of her dolls Grandma made for her. Mei Ryu and Yun are wrestling near there, keeping an eye on their younger sibling at the same time.

I call to them, asking them what they are doing. No response. They do not stop what they are doing. Younger siblings, ugh. I leave them and walk through the field to the large tree standing by itself, out of place in the field. There is a little girl sitting next to the tree. All I see is the darkened outline of her body. The shadow of the tree conceals her identity. I know better.

"Oura," I say. "I know its you."

"Oura?" replies the little girl. Her voice is soft, sweet like Chun Fa's, not harsh and creepy like Oura's.

"I'm sorry, little girl. I thought you were someone else. I couldn't see you too well under that tree." The little girl stands up and walks out from under the tree's shadow. Her face is similar to Oura's but softer and more childlike. Her hair is long and black and her eyes are green. Her wears a green kimono dress and gold slippers.

"You really need to keep track of this place," she says. "You haven't been here in sometime. Thinking I'm Oura, give me a break."

"I said I was sorry, little girl. Wait, you know Oura?"

"Like I said, you haven't been here in sometime."

"What is this place?"

"Its my dream," says the little girl, staring up into the tree's branches. "I allow you to rent space here from time to time. Hence, your younger siblings running around, destroying my wild grass. It doesn't bother me. It's nice to see family."

"So I'm in your dream?"

"My world. I made this world for us. You don't really remember anything, do you?" I just stare at her. What is with me and weird little girls?

"That's unfortunate. We can't really do much until you start to remember things."

"Do what? And remember what? Little girl, you are not making any sense. I came here to fight Oura and I want her here—" I am mentally screaming to myself to stop talking. Shut up, you idiot. The curse of the Rei Fuan clan. Too many words, big mouths, little impulse control, stubborn hearts, and short tempers.

"Idiot," huffs the little girl.

"—now!" My last word snaps out of my mouth like a whip, cracking the tree down the middle. The peaceful orange hue of the world quickly dies and turns dark green, spoiling and rotting.

"It took me forever and a half to get her out of here and now you invite her back in again," says the little girl.

"I'm sorry, Becka," I say.

"Said that the last time too."

"Hey. I know your name. But I still don't know who you are and where we are and what the hell you are talking about or what the hell is going on."

"Memory works in mysterious ways, Rinfi." Large wings sprout from the little girl's back and wrap around the child. A woman in a silver armor appears after the wings reopen. Her armor resembles Oura's black armor only Becka's armor comes with armored wings.

A sudden and familiar pain overcomes my body. I fall to the ground, holding my head. Becka is shouting something to me, but the strong wind blowing between us prevents me from hearing a word.

Becka is now in the air, holding her bow and pointing an arrow at me. I feel my body slowly change into someone else's. Becka releases the arrow. The arrow stabs into my chest and I dissolve into a million tiny specks of gold light.

I wake up, screaming and kicking. Sage's hand lands firmly on my chest bone and pushes me back down on the bed, holding me still while I work through waking up to my dream.

Eventually, my body's soreness stops my kicking. Sage is sitting next to me, the rest of the guys are scattered through the room. There is one person I do not recognize. He is sitting in the corner of the room, his long, straight brown hair covers most of his face. He is dressed in clothes that were in style about a couple hundred years ago and when uncomfortable was the latest fashion trend.

All the guys are staring at me, only they are staring at something slightly above me. There is a glow in the room that is not coming from the lamps but from me. I touch my forehead and burn my hand.

"Ouch. Son of a—" The glow disappears from the room. After wetting my finger with my mouth, I dare to touch my forehead again. Nothing.

"Rinfi, are you okay?"

"Anubis, what just happen."

"The sun armor of Myra," replies the man.

"The what armor of what?"

"Anubis, what are you talking about?"

"Sis, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kento. Quit asking. Is your name seriously Anubis?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_The high priestess Myra gives birth to three beautiful daughters. The eldest daughter is Oura, born during the fiery summer season. The child is mischievous, clever, and strong. The second eldest is Becka, born during the calmer spring season. She is wise beyond her years and a little cleverer than her elder sister. The youngest daughter, Kindra, is born during the slow, winter season. She is sweet, good natured, and everything a little girl should be. _

_ The high priestess Myra raises her land and her children with a firm hand of understanding and discipline. Her daughters, Oura and Becka, come to many disagreements as children. However, despite their differences and arguments, the three daughters grow into three lovely young women._

_ When Oura, the eldest, turns eighteen (her younger sister sixteen, and her youngest sister fourteen), Myra presents her daughters with three armors. Oura, the eldest daughter, is given the armor of the stars. Becka, the second eldest, is given the moon. And the youngest, Kindra, is given the sun._

_ "My three daughters," Myra tells to her children. "You three are my universe." _

"_Kindra," Myra tells her youngest. "You are the light of your sisters. May you always be there to remind them of their bond in blood and shed light onto the darkness their conflicts they may create."_

_The second eldest is told to empathize with her older sister and to understand Oura's desire to lead and create an easier world for her younger sisters. Becka is the beautiful and calm moon of her sisters, may she reinforce peace and tranquility for her younger sister and provide calm support for her older sister._

_Lastly, Myra turns to her eldest daughter and places her hands on Oura's head. _

"_Oura, my child. You are the stars in the sky. You are cleverly hidden from your enemies in the daylight so you may watch your younger sisters, but you shine bright and fierce at night, distracting enemies from your other younger sisters. My child, I ask much of you and you ask much of yourself and your siblings. I pray that you find peace within yourself and do not let you quest for greatness hinder your desire for a positive future for your siblings."_

_With these words, Myra leaves her children and disappears into sky on white wings. She never returns. Unbeknownst to her children, Myra has given each of them a cursed gift. With their armors, they are powerful and strong. Without their armors, they will die and fade away into nothing. _

_A year passes._

_Oura, the eldest, inherits control over all territories formally under her mother's domain. Becka is her top advisor while Kindra is head of the family's army of warriors and protectors. The three siblings adhere to their mother's last words for one year before falling victims to their own insecurities and personal faults._

_Myra becomes consume by her armor's power and gains hunger for bigger territories and war. Becka argues with her older sister and only adds fuel to the fire burning in Oura's soul. Kindra is torn between her two older sisters' words and can only watch as her two sisters destroy one another. _

_A great battle is fought between the stars and the moon. Oura fights for power and control. Becka fights for the sake of fighting with her elder sister. Kindra watches the elder sisters do battle. To no avail, can she please both of her sisters with a truce. _

_The battle ends with both sisters dying next to each other. Kindra prays to their mother for forgiveness and asks their mother for guidance. Before Kindra can finish her prayer, the star and moon armors lock the fallen sisters away and disappear into another realm where the armors and armor wielders can survive. _

_Kindra eventually disappears too, only not to another realm but from existence. After Kindra's leave, the territories and wealth of the high priestess's family is divided among neighboring clans. _

_Why would Myra have given her three daughters cursed gifts that would ultimately destroy her children?_

Mia stops at the end of the story she is reading on the computer screen. With a click of the mouse, she prints out the text and the corresponding ancient drawings of the armors. One black armor with ribbons of darkness, one silver with angelic wings, and one gold with rays of light.

The black armor is easily recognized by everyone in the room. The silver armor is easily recognized by at least one person in the room.

If you haven't guessed, we're sitting in the newly redecorated computer room that, in the past couple of days, is now a recreation room or something. All I know is that now there are two couches and a chair in here. And it's not as dusty or musty. Thank you.

The guys space themselves on the couches, Anubis takes the chair, the kid sits on the floor, and I sit on the floor in the corner of the room, leaning against Whiteblaze. Sage propped me up there so I could doze off with a little privacy. I am still sore and tired. No quick recovery from being hit by a garbage truck, I guess. I think I've heard "you're lucky to be alive" about a million times by now.

"The story has an awkward ending," says Mia. "It sounds like it shouldn't have ended here."

"That's right, Mia," replies Anubis. "The author of the tale, Greena, was to complete his story. He had supposedly discovered one of the armors. I suspect he found the sun armor, but Greena died before he could complete the second half of his story. His unfinished manuscript has never been found."

Anubis is a former warlord of the evil lord who almost overtook the world. He is, of course, reformed now and is enlightened with the spirit of whoever "the Ancient One" is or was and lives a life of harmony, peace, and good stuff.

Back when the guys were fighting Talpa (the evil lord now has a name), Anubis supposedly sacrificed himself to save some chick with some serious mental issues and an annoying laugh. The guys left him for dead in the river when Anubis actually just had the wind knock out of him. Long story short, it made for an awkward reunion three days ago when Anubis appeared at the front door, alive and all.

I have been resting for those three days, coming in and out of conscious. But I suppose you are wondering about the glowing thingy that appeared on my forehead this morning? Apparently, it has something to do with the story Mia, the talking robot, just read from her computer screen. Somehow, I'm connected to this sun armor, since that is what is currently painted on my forehead in gold: the image of the sun. I look like a freak or a tween who broke out the Halloween face paint early because of the newest Lady Gaga video. And yes, I am rather cranky today.

None of this made any sense to me. I am being haunted by Oura, but I am connected to the sun armor. I doubt I am not alone in my cluelessness. I want to ask Anubis what all of this means, but I am just too damn tired all ready. I lean my head back into Whiteblaze's fur and close my eyes. Yep, I am seriously going to fall alsleep here.

"I still don't understand how Rinfi plays into all of this," says Rowen, scanning the prints outs and unconsciously expressing my concerns. "The girl or demon or whatever that has been following Rinfi is clearly Oura, and the sign on Rinfi's forehead is clearly the sun, but why Rinfi?"

Anubis begins to answer him but his words aren't reaching me. I see everyone turn and look at me as Anubis shares his opinion or story or whatever.

"I hate being this tired," I mumble.

"Roar," replies the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I am becoming accustomed to my weird dreams, especially those of these past couple of days. I have dreamt of evil little girls, not-so-evil little girls who change into full grown women warriors, and I have dreamt childhood memories I thought were long over. Wrong.

However, this dream is different. I am not an active participant but an observer. I am standing against the cool wall of the inside of a little home. Definitely not the 21st century. Definitely no where near my time. This place smells like Grandma's house minus Grandma.

A man is kneeling over the small bed while a young woman whispers something in his ear. I cannot hear them. I cannot see their faces. I try to move against the wall, in hopes of seeing their faces. Left or right, it doesn't matter. The room moves in the same direction as my body and I give up after a few more hopeful tries.

The man moves slightly back from the young woman. All I can see of her is her arm and hand, grasping the man's shirt. Her nails are painted gold. Then she is gone. Her body fades away in familiar specks of gold light. Hmm…

Time then moves fast. I see the man returning home. I see him writing in a green leather journal. I see him on his walk to the nearby town, the journal tucked away in his coat.

I wonder where he is going with that journal. Off to claim a multimillion dollar book deal with his manuscript, perhaps. They would then turn his manuscript into a movies series or TV show with apathetic and annoying female leads and fine looking European imports.

"I really need to lay off the vampire genres," I say to myself.

"Vampires?" the man asks, turning around. "You associate with vampires? Devil possessed corpses?"

"Well, they don't look like corpses," I reply, getting defensive that this guy is bad mouthing my imaginary men. I then realized after I have spoken (doing more of that lately) that the man can see and hear me.

"How long have you been able to see me?" I ask.

"I was waiting for you to introduce yourself," he says with a smile. He's good looking, I'll give him that. He looks like Rowen, only without the hair, the eyes, the smile, the perplexed look, I really could go on forever. He can't be older than 25.

"I'm Rinfi Rei Fuan," I tell him.

"That's some name," he says. "She told me you'd have a name like that. A proud name. Mother would teach you ton say all of it during introductions." I ignore the creepiness of him knowing about my mom. He probably has a mom like my mom. Poor soul.

"She? You talking about the woman who died recently?" I have no reference of time here. It could have been days, hours, or the guy could have killed her minutes ago. A teenage girl alone in the woods with a serial killer. That would make a good made-for-TV movie.

"And who are you and why can you see me when we are in my dream? I remember falling asleep so don't say I'm in your dream. I have had enough of being in other people's dreams or dream worlds or whatever."

The man stares at me for a second or two, no doubt trying to comprehend and take in everything I just unloaded on him right now. I do not have the patience to wait for him to reply. It will probably be the next season (whatever season that is, I have no reference for the time of year either). Is it fall or early winter out here? I'm cold.

"You're Greena, aren't you?" I ask. I'm not completely clueless to what is going on. "And that woman I saw you talking to or attending to…that's Kindra, isn't it?"

"You are a very direct girl, aren't you, Rinfi Rei Fuan?" he says with a smile. "My name is Hukara Greena and yes, that was Kindra, the wielder of the Armor of the Sun, you saw in that bed. You see, I was sent to your dream to explain to you what has happened and what is currently happening to you."

"You were sent here?"

"Yes, I was sent here. I'm dead, child. The only places I travel to are dreams and shrines to scare little children who disrespect the dead. God, I love scaring them."

"But the other half of your manuscript…why didn't you publish it?" I remember what Anubis had said moments before I fell asleep. The first half is recorded, the second half (arguably the more important half) was never recovered.

"I died before I could reprint it and give it to a historian."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you die?" Damn me and my curiosity.

"I was killed," replies Greena, continuing his walk. "By your sister, Oura." I quickly catch up to him and we walk together side by side.

"I don't have a sister named Oura," I correct him. "I am from the future, not this time period. Not even close. I don't even know the names or occupations of my ancestors during this time." Ten bucks says female ancestors are homemakers.

"You may have been born in the future but your soul is very old, Rinfi Rein Faun, very old. And very powerful," explains Greena. "After the deaths of Oura and Becka, Kindra retreated to the mountains. Since she had not used her armor for power or revenge or spite, she was able to live without her armor and summon it. She lived quite peacefully up here for a time. I heard rumors of a witch living in these mountains, so I investigated and found her."

"How long was she gone? I mean, how long did she live after the battle between her sisters?"

"Hundreds of years. When I found her though, she looked the same. A lonely young woman with the burden of carrying her siblings' petty rivalry and her family's cursed history. I asked her why her mother bestowed such cursed armors to her and her sisters. She couldn't answer that. I asked her where she sisters had been transported to after the battle."

"Why did they go?"

"Another dimension, only they were slowly seeping out of that dimension. Oura faster than her sister. They were able to stretch themselves into our world through dreams and nightmares and shadows." That would explain my dreams and nightmares. Oura is inhabiting my nightmares, and Becka is renting me dreams.

"Kindra was dying when I found her," continues Greena. "She had used all her strength and power in trying to restore her sisters to this world. Even though her sisters would probably kill each other off again, what is a younger sister to do? Before she passed, she told me her one secret."

"Bet it has something to do with Oura," I mutter under my breath.

"She had found a way to bring her sisters back, physically, into our world. Oura was able to enter through Kindra. Kindra used herself as a portal for her older sister. A body with two person's souls. Kindra died before she could do the same for her other sister and before she could let Oura completely free."

"What was she telling you? Before she died?"

"With her last ounce of strength, Kindra begged me to kill her, correct the mistake she had made. Stab her straight through the heart. It was the only way to ensure Oura would not be completely released in our world. Kill the portal, kill the passengers."

"You didn't kill her though," I say, noticing the story has become very emotional for the man.

"No," says Greena. "I couldn't. She was still young. I have a sister her age."

"So that's it? You wrote about finding Kindra and watching her die? I thought you had found the sisters' armors or something." Yeah, I am lying. I didn't think that. Anubis did. I could care less. I just wanted to stop having these weird dreams and for everything to go back to normal, before I started to have dreams with Oura in them.

"I have my suspicions as to the location of the elder sisters' last battle. But I have not yet traveled there. After Kindra's death, I prayed that she would find some way of returning here. I sense the three armors will have to battle eventually and we will all feel the consequences of such a battle. They are not something that can be wished away." Greena pauses and takes my hand.

"You, my dear, are that return. Kindra came back in you." I don't like where this conversation is going. I sense a hell of a lot of responsibility and honor being tossed on me.

"You're wrong, Greena," I say. "I'm being haunted by Oura, not Kindra. I saw Becka in a dream world, but I have never seen Kindra."

"Perhaps then, you are portal to Kindra and whatever or whoever else Kindra was harboring in her physical being before she passed. You are housing two very different souls in you, child. If you are not careful, they may tear your body apart." I think about my powers and for a moment, find Greena's assertion probable. And then I think about my headaches, nose bleeds, and ear bleeds. Is my body killing itself because there are two sisters (or more, I do not like the implication he is making about what Kindra was packing in her) in me bitching at each other?

"What do I do, Greena?" I ask him, shaking him. "What can I do? I don't want to die. Hell, I don't want to fight anyone!"

"That's not a question I can answer, child. Only you can answer that, with time." Greena touches my forehead. The sun must still be there.

I feel something inside me growl. Something in the pit of my stomach works it way up through my body. I clench my fists and close my eyes, trying to subdue whatever my body is trying to puke out.

"Don't fight it, Rinfi," says Greena. "This is what is suppose to happen. Just don't blame yourself for it." The sound of blood splattering against the trees is something I will never forget.

I wake up screaming. Not in pain but fear of what has happened. The computer/recreational room is empty. The guys must be out somewhere. I bury my head into Whiteblaze's side. The beast smells like a forest with a beautiful beach nearby. No amount of aroma therapy can drown out what I did.

"Jesus, I killed him," I say with a mouthful of fur. "And I didn't find out where he thought the sisters fought all those years ago."

I do not notice Sage watching me from the shadows covering half of the couch. But someone else does. She turns my head and makes me stare at him.

"Our time is coming," she makes me say. "Do something about it."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What do you want with Rinfi?" asks Sage to whoever (three guesses who) is speaking through me.

"Want? I want nothing from Rinfi. I want what was taken from us. Rinfi is the passage for my success. Like I said before, do something about it," _we_ say to him.

"Then I am to assume I am speaking to Oura?" says Sage. "I wish to speak to the other woman in there."

"There is no other woman in here. There is me," _we_ say, pointing to my head. "And then there is Rinfi." I hit myself in the chest. Damn, my knuckles hurt.

"And what about Kindra? She must be in there somewhere," says Sage, tricking Oura to do something stupid. "Haven't you noticed that on_ your_ body's forehead?"

My hand touches my forehead. We scream in pain and then suddenly we changes back to only me. I can move my hand, my arm, and I give my leg a good kick, just in case. My body is my own again.

"Sage, that was epic. Thanks."

"The symbol on your forehead served as a protective charm. I figured there had to be a reason it was staying there," explains Sage.

I get up and stare at my reflection in the computer monitor. Yep, the symbol is gone. Doubt it will stay gone.

"What were you dreaming about, if don't mind me asking?"

"Nothing really," I lie, not wanting to admit to dreaming about killing a man. "I don't even remember it."

"If you say so…" I think of a fruit, in case blondie is reading my mind. I stare at him. Banana…banana…

"Are you thinking about bananas?" he finally asks. Okay, that is a bit creepy.

The rest of the guys do return to the room shortly after. Most of them hadn't even left the house. The discussion changes from legends to facts. Legend: Greena wrote and finished the other half of his manuscript. Fact: Anubis knows where the man died. Really, Anubis only knows where Green was buried. Perhaps Greena died nearby. One would think I should know so.

Plans are set to head out tomorrow on a grave robbing adventure. The adventure is rated PG-13 for action violence, language, and sexual tension. God, I hope I'm going. Looks like not.

Kento argues I should stay home since I am still in recovery and he doesn't want to accidentally almost kill me. Cye argues with Kento that that is not a valid reason for me to stay home. Instead, my older brother should have said he just didn't want me to get hurt. Kento then apologizes for almost killing me again. Again again again. I, for a second, wish he had killed me.

Anubis argues that I should accompany them since I may have some connection to the burial site. Sage agrees (wonder why). I get to argue nothing since the discussion is about me and what would I know?

Ryo argues that we need more sunlight and fresh air in the room. Rowen says nothing, staring through me and the wall behind me. He then smiles at me, silently saying, _"Oh boy. This is going to take awhile."_

I silently smile back with, _"Yeah. Totally." _

After dinner and after still no resolution over my attendance tomorrow, I go out for a walk to clear my head, take in the fresh air, and to avoid Sage's stare over lying about my afternoon dream/nightmare. I'm not suppose to be out on my own which is why it is 2 in the morning and the whole house is asleep before I venture out on my own.

I must admit, I somewhat want Oura to appear so I can fight her. There is something in me that hurts Oura, whether it's actually me or Becka or Kindra, I don't care as long as I can hurt her. Right? I rub my forehead for good luck.

I walk along the shore of the lake behind the mansion, carefully creating small ripples in the water with my waving finger as I pass. I still have the powers I had before everything went completely bad shit. What this means, I have no idea. But watching the waves more back and forth because of the small flick of my finger makes me happy. I ain't no naïve, innocent fourteen year old. Power and control are very sexy things to have and wield. Behold my power, small waves!

My walk to nowhere in particular about nothing in particular makes me think about everything, randomly. My powers, the armors, and being stuck in the middle of something that will most likely end badly, for me. Something to look forward to, I suppose.

I remember events that only my brother and the Ronin Warriors remember. Since those events happened, I have developed the knack for moving things with my fingers and mind. Maybe, on occasion, I can destroy even things, like little cute lake docks, with my mind or emotions.

Childhood events I had suppressed to my dreams are now coming back to reality. Oura is evil. Kindra is not. Becka is unknown since she killed me in a dream but technically killed Oura, who was technically me. There are three armors and I possibly am holding two of the armor wielders in my body. Maybe this explains where my powers originated from. But if I met Oura when I was a kid, why only recently have I had these powers?

"And I don't think Becka is in here," I say, thumping my chest. "She's in a dream world, a place between 'now' reality and 'then' reality, like the past."

My walk takes me all the way to the other side of the lake. I can see lights turning on in the mansion. Either everyone is getting a jump start on the morning, or someone escaped from her cell. I smile a little. I managed to get way over here before anyone noticed I was gone. Even got pass the tiger. Props to me.

I walk off into the woods, half expecting a monster to jump out from behind one of the trees. I have no idea actually where I am going but I keep walking, hoping that I will find something out here to answer some of my questions or create more questions for me to focus on.

Nothing. I give up on my quest for self enlightenment after a few minutes of walking. It is chillier out now, and I am a little worried about what is happening back at the mansion but mostly I am getting cold. Maybe I shouldn't have left. Maybe one of the guys, not Kento, would have walked with me awhile. I wonder what Rowen must think of me now? Sure I am a nerd, socially awkward, and a fat cow, but what must he think now that am some possessed sister of his friend?

What am I thinking? Maybe this is like a manga series or video game series. Maybe I am the heroine in the making and this is only the first volume or level or episode. I know I am being delusional, but I grasp the fantasy as I walk out of the woods.

"Armor of the Sun! Make up!"

"Rinfi? What are you doing?" asks Rowen, standing on the edge of the woods to my left, just far enough to be out of my line of sight and just close enough to watch my geekiness in action. I casually try to stretch out of the ridiculous pose I am standing in. I meant to do that.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I coolly ask. "I'm being a complete geek/loser." Yes, I actually say "slash."

"You really shouldn't be out here by yourself," he says, walking closer. "And I think you know that."

"Can't you stay out here with me, then?" I ask, getting the nerve to ask for his company. "I mean, I don't want to be cooped up inside the house all the time. I feel much better now, honest." Fingers crossed.

"I figured you were feeling better since you're trying to summon the Sun armor out here," says Rowen. We are walking along the edge of the lake, slowly making our way back to the house. We're going the long way though, walking the other side of the lake instead of backtracking along the side of the lake I had already walked tonight.

"Do you think I actually have armor like you do?"

"Doesn't matter what I think. What do you think?" This is trick question. Living with numerous little siblings and one big sibling has educated me enough on the clues to a trick question. One: no good looking man thinks his opinion doesn't matter. Two: asking me a question in response to my question places the awkwardness of the conversation back in my court. I have two ways of answering the question. I can either throw it back at him. Or I can answer honestly and express my feelings to the man whose hair glistens in the moonlight and has eyes that sparkle.

"I think it would be kind of nice to have one," I reply. "With everything that has been happening to me and everyone around me, I better be getting one. A damn nice one."

Rowen laughs. I laugh a little too. Another chill blows pass us. I should have dressed appropriately for my big trip into the great outdoors. Pajama boxers and a long shirt really don't provide much warmth.

"Jesus, you must be cold," says Rowen, taking off his coat and helping me slide into it. It smells like him. Smells good…wait, why is he dressed like he is going out somewhere?

"What are you guys up to?" I ask, pointing to the now very awake mansion in front of us.

"We're heading out," he replies.

"And I'm not."

"Yep."

Great. Now I'm stuck with the big, boring place with the woman and kid.

"But," says Rowen, interrupting my internal rant. "We also voted that one of us stays behind to keep an eye on you."

"So Whiteblaze counts as a Ronin Warrior now?" I reply, again, not thinking before I blurt out whatever is in my head.

"Nah, we voted that I should stay here with you. If it makes you feel better, it was pretty close between me and Whiteblaze."

"Let me guess. Cye was the deciding vote?"

So yeah, the guys leave me alone in a mansion with Rowen. Even the woman and the kid get to go on the adventure. It is like the guys want them to get kidnapped or something.

Kento hugs me goodbye so hard that I feel each of my individual ribs shift. Sage just stares at me for a moment, sadly shakes his head, and then pats me on the head. There's a good girl. Cye kisses me on the cheek and tells me to behave. Ryo awkwardly shakes my hand, since he isn't comfortable kissing me like the guy who went before him in line.

And that is that. They are gone and I am sitting out on the shore of the lake since the dock, for some reason, is out of commission. The sand is cold and wet so I really have no plans on getting up for sometime. I think my foot is asleep. I slowly bend my foot. Yep, the bitch is asleep.

"Foot asleep?" asks Rowen, passing me a can Coke Zero. He sits next to me on the sand. He has his pants rolled up right above his ankles. So prep. So cute.

"Might have to cut the whole leg off," I say. It is still early morning, if you haven't guessed. The guys have just bailed and I am debating with myself whether I should spill my soul to Rowen or not. The changing sky is setting the mood for something intimate.

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" I ask.

"A day or so."

"Do you really think they're going to find the second half of the manuscript of that dead guy?"

"Probably. Don't knock Anubis too hard, Rinfi. He's helped us good in the past. Even wants to help us now, after we left him for dead."

"What do you think the rest of the manuscript will say?"

"Not sure. What's on your mind? You're sure asking a lot of questions," says Rowen, sipping from his glass of iced tea. The moon is pretty low in the sky. Day will be coming shortly and I'm not one bit tired. I have slept enough these past couple of days to keep me awake for a week, at least.

"What if the second half of the manuscript says something bad about me or the armors?"

"What do you mean about you?" asks Rowen, eyeing me with those deep, intellectual eyes. He is trying to read me. I turn my head away from him.

"Let's just say I have a bad feeling about what that second half might say about the armors and what will happen to those armors in the not-so-near future," I reply.

"Why bad feelings, though? Because of Oura? Then don't worry about it, Rinfi. She hasn't been back in a couple of days and whatever appeared on your forehead is gone now too." I then realize Sage hasn't told the guys about the possession episode that happened earlier.

It is here that I spill my soul to the poor, blue haired man sitting next to me on the shore. I tell him about my nightmares and about how I may have met Oura as a child. I tell him about the seizures I had as a child, the ones only family knows about. I tell him about the dream I had about-scratch that-with Becka, and about the dream I had with Greena. I tell him that I was possessed for five minutes or so by Oura in the computer room yesterday while everyone but Sage was away. And after all that, Rowen only asks one thing.

"And….?"

"And I can frickin' move things with my hand!" I say, waving my hand violently at the lake. The waves crashing on shore completely soak us.

"I destroyed the stupid dock! I mess with teachers' cars at school, and I am pretty sure I am the woman in the black armor, only I can't prove that yet! I am somewhat responsible for what is going on and I am afraid that the second half of that stupid manuscript will say that I need to be killed or taken away or locked away or something!" I exclaim, completely drained of the built up tension and frustration that was brewing in me.

Rowen sips from his glass, taking slow and cautious sips while staring across the lake.

"Sounds like you got a lot going on and you didn't ask anyone for help," he finally says.

"Yeah, I got a lot going on," I huff.

"Maybe we should see if you can call upon the Sun Armor. It would be nice if you got something for all this work you've been doing."

"What work? Haven't you been listening to me?" I ask, standing up before I sink completely into the mud like substance formerly known as sand. "I haven't been doing anything yet shit keeps happening around me and hurting people or causing people trouble. I hate having this much stuff happen around me. I tried to take Clara's advice and just go with the flow, but damn it, I am took much of a control freak. I am feel that I am not in control of things, Rowen, and I do not like that."

"Exactly," replies Rowen. "Look at all the work you have been doing to keep everything a secret from everyone. You've been going at this solo, but eventually, Rin, eventually, you will wear yourself out. Give yourself a break. Let us help. Let me help."

"You want to help me?" I ask. He sounds so sincere. I'm not used to that. I can't hint any sarcasm—Wait, is he touching my shoulder? I have been ranting so much; I haven't even noticed that he is now standing up too.

"Sure I do. I care about you Rinfi—" I then I black out. No, seriously. The next couple of things he says just disappear. I regain conscious after he is done and asking me if I want to try.

"Try what?" I ask, trying to disguise that I am not blacking out into a fantasy world with a beach and sunlight and no tourists or little kids. Just the two of us there, conversing on current politics and scientific breakthroughs…I am blacking out again.

"Your armor," clarifies Rowen. "What if we see if you can call upon the Sun armor?"

"Why not?" I say, feeling better that now someone else has experienced and survived a small chunk of what is going on in my head.

"Armor of the Sun!" I yell, hand in the air, posing like a Power Ranger. "Transform now!"

Rowen immediately takes a step back. I am blinded by bright lights all around me. The gold from my finger nails explodes and paints itself all over my body. I can feel it expanding and hardening, molding itself onto my body's form. The gold spreads over my face. I take a deep breath and let it happen.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

She sits on the roof of the apartment building. She watches the night sky. Tonight is the night. She can feel something different in the air.

She grips a small, silver ball in her hand and rolls it up and down her palm. She has been sitting up on the roof for hours. Her parents think she's depressed. Her little brother could care less.

She isn't depressed. She is quite content with her life now. She has a purpose. She just has to wait for a sign to act.

The silver ball drops from her hand, too heavy for her to roll it anymore. The ball glows at her feet. "She's here…" says the voice in her head. The voice has been in there for years, whispering to the girl when she was alone. For the past couple of days, the voice has become clearer and more specific in its commands. The voice has instructed the girl to sit out on the roof every night this week.

"So I'm not the only one," hums the girl to her feet. "What to do? What to do?"

She picks up the silver ball and places it back into her pocket where it should be. The ball has returned to its normal weight and color.

The girl sits on the roof's railing and watches the new, little girl star in the sky. It is faint, unnoticeable it you are not looking for it.

Her cell phone vibrates. A text from her mom. Bec, when r u coming downstairs for dinner?

Text messaging is the only way for the poor mother to communicate with her two aloof children. Her daughter is a social outcast and her son in girl crazy.

The gold star disappears. Rebecca is coming downstairs a little sooner tonight. She knows not the chase the star or worry about where it went. It'll come back to the city eventually.

She steps off the roof. Faint, silver wings sprout from her back, and the girl floats down to the emergency staircase outside her window. Of course, this event except for the man who lives alone a few floors above the girl's family. But he's so high on drugs and sex all the time. He figures her to be another far out hallucination and so do his scantily clan lady friends.

Rebecca Suu. Age 16. Two classes ahead of her peers. Senior at the local high school. Honor roll. Star track and field athlete. Set the fastest time in the school's history for the 100 meter last spring. No friends. No enemies. Only acquaintances and wannabe posers.

She is a tall, lean girl with long, pale blonde hair. Three freckles on the left side of her face. Gray eyes. Doesn't smile. Doesn't laugh. Doesn't cry.

She started hearing voices at the age of five. She remembers the first time she heard the woman in her head. It was at a cousin's birthday party. The voice told Rebecca that the girl was special and she would need to do something very important for the voice when she was a little older. In most cases, the voice was muffled to her as a child like the voice was coming from some far away and windy place.

When she turned 16, the voice became louder and clearer. The voice told her about three armors and the woman who created them. The voice told her about the three sisters and the realm where they were banished one by one. The voice gave her commands and Rebecca followed them.

She found the silver ball. She called her armor. And she waited. She waited for the moment she could destroy the Armor of the Stars before it destroys her and everything else.

A few days pass since she saw the gold star briefly in the sky. It does not return, not that it should. Its appearance was merely a warning that it is coming.

Rebecca sits in the school's library, working on a paper for her independent study credits this semester. Rebecca watches her walk into the library. The other girl is unaware of Rebecca as she walks pass the table where the blonde girl sits. The girl is too busy quietly chatting it up with her friend. Rebecca knows the friend. Clara Renji. Freshman. Somewhat popular. Pretty. Definitely not an honors student.

Renji's friend is shorter, rounder, and has a boy hair cut. She wears a boy's school uniform in protest of the new, shorter skirts of the girl's uniforms. She is an honor roll student. Not a star athlete. Family has money. And she is close to skipping a grade or two, as soon as the school's curriculum catches up to her grade point average and test scores.

The two girls walk to the back of the library, up the stairs, and disappear onto the second floor. There is nothing up there but reference books and legal documents.

Rebecca leaves her books at her table and walks up stairs. Nothing but dusty books and boxes. Where did they go? A slight breeze blows pass her hair. A window is open. Rebecca fixes her hair and walks to the open window. She can smell Clara's lemon-lime perfume.

"Smells nice," she says to the open window.

A librarian is on the second floor a moment later to tell the young women they are not allowed on this floor. She finds no one and all the windows are closed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Rebecca blasts me with a sweet, blue energy shockwave from her equally sweet and badass sword. Clara screams. I am pushed to the ground under the weight of the attack. Rebecca smirks, lowers her sword, and slowly walks over to my beaten and now more bruised body.

"Rebecca, what the hell?" shrieks Clara, bravely hiding behind an air vent. What the hell indeed? I don't even know this chick. I'm pissing off people I don't even know.

All I wanted to do today was to explain to Clara why I hadn't been in contact with her much during the summer break. Freshman lunch period is the only time I have away from the guys at school. Yes, the boys are now back in school too.

The door to the roof was locked because of hooligans sneaking up onto the roof (damn kids), so we snuck up here through the library. Yours truly just recently discovered that she can fly for short periods of time. I know that sounds more like floating, but the when you consider the ability to fly versus the ability to float, which one sounds cooler to you?

I flashback to the lake behind Mia's (yes, I know her name) home and the string of events that lead to me having my ass kicked by some crazy school girl in a short, pleaded skirt tripping on a power trip.

Rowen convinced me to try and summon the Sun Armor. And by convinced, I mean he asked me to do so.

Obviously, I was able to do so. The armor was epic, heavy, and really heavy.

The amour has no weapons on it from what we could tell. I couldn't do any attacks or any defensive maneuvers in the heavy thing too. I was pretty much a girl trapped in giant, gold soda can.

After a couple of hours walking around in the armor, my body gave out and I changed back to normal. I wasn't able to call back the armor again. My body said a big "hell no thank you" and crapped out on me.

Rowen said I did great for my first time experiencing super natural armor. He said he had problems controlling his armor at first too. Everyone did. I reminded Rowen he had extensive martial arts training before acquiring his armor. I then reminded him I was the only Rei Fuan in three generations who did not hold some championship title. Yes, even the five year old Rei Fuan has two titles already. I was under the impressive that bad ass kicking skills came standard with these armors.

I was too tired to care that I looked like a beached whale just lying there on the ground. Rowen smiled and carried me back to the mansion. He smelled like a really good book. I did die a little in his arms that night. I must have fallen asleep before we reached the mansion. I woke up the following morning tucked into my bed.

My strength returned that morning, and I spent the entire day practicing basic defensive and offensive moves with Rowen. Rowen said he knew I could kick harder. I knew I didn't want to ruin his pretty face. Attending all those family tournaments and championships did wear off on me some. I could replicate what I had seen and my repressed anger and feelings of insecurity allowed me the strength to pack a punch.

The guys, the cat, the woman, the kid, and the older guy returned two days later. They reeked of tiredness, hunger, and awesomeness. There was much battling to be had on the adventure. And the woman and kid were kidnapped on the trip too. Totally called that one.

Anubis's suspicions as to the whereabouts of Greena's actual tomb did play out. Unfortunately, the hidden shrine underneath Greena's tomb was filled with demon soldiers, monster spider webs, and no second half of the manuscript.

"Where could the manuscript be then?" I asked him.

"I don't know. That was all I had really," replied Anubis. It was weird hearing him talk like a normal person.

"We think someone beat us there," said Ryo. "The place was ransacked and the guys we fought were leftovers."

"We are not only looking for that second half of the manuscript but also are going to have to find whoever took that manuscript," concludes Cye.

Sage said nothing. He stared into my soul and tried to read my mind. Apples…apples…apples.

The guys split up to eat, sleep, and most importantly bathe. After Kento hugged me with a body slam, a recommended he showered first. Sage headed outside to do some mediating or whatever deep spiritual guys do. As he passed me, he whispered _pears_ in my ear.

"Apples."

"Damn. I've been gone too long."

The rest of the summer break at the mansion was eventless. I couldn't call on my armor and Anubis and the guys couldn't figure out where the second half of Greena's manuscript was and who took it. And when I say "Anubis and the guys," I mean the woman and her computer couldn't figure it out.

So now, I am here, lying on the dirty school's roof, flashbacking about my summer break adventure as a crazy blonde chick tries to slice me with a big ass sword.

"I'm going to kill you, Rinfi Rei Fuan," says Rebecca, standing over me with her sword held high over her head.

Rebecca's arms drop forward. I see my reflection in the fast approaching blade. So this is how it all ends, huh? Death by blonde chick. I didn't have the chance to tell Rowen I cared for him. Didn't have the chance to tell Kento he isn't a complete screw up of an older brother. Never got to test more mind fruit on Sage. I went through all of this armor and demon possession crap to be sliced open like an apple? Yes, I am still thinking about apples.

As the sword comes closer and closer to me, I remember sitting on the roof at home with Rowen. I remember coming home from school and watching the little sibs wrestle and play in the backyard. I think about Clara and I having fun up here, acting like we were Gods overlooking a world not of our own.

"Rinfi!" screams Clara. Her words echo and push through the air like a slow moving, powerful wave. Rebecca hesitates. I curl my hand into a fist and swing as hard as I can into Rebecca's exposed leg. Thank you shorter school skirts.

Rebecca screams in pain and falls to her knees. I flip up off the ground and watch her. I am only able to take a breather for a second or two before Rebecca recomposes herself and comes charging at me, sword first. I dodge the first swing but can't avoid the knee to my stomach. Damn. Skinny bitch kicks hard.

I suck in as much air as I can to numb the throbbing pain in my stomach and tackle her, trying to pry the sword away from her. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Clara talking on her phone.

Rebecca and I wrestle on the roof. By Rebecca's wrestling style, I can tell she doesn't have many younger siblings. I pin her to the ground, holding her down by her shoulders. I kick the sword's handle. It slides across the roof a few feet away from us.

"What is your problem?" I ask her.

"You!" she says. She slams her fist against the ground. I am sent flying back from the force.

"You must die," she continues, her body magically being lifted off the ground. She opens her hand. The swords flies back into its rightful place. She charges me, her feet still not touching the ground. A light blue glow surrounds her. Her eyes are glowing. Hr hair is standing on end. Light is emitting from her forehead. A crescent moon.

"Sailor Moon has gone bad shit!" exclaims Clara.

"I'm going to kill you, Rinfi Rei Fuan," says Clara, getting closer and closer. "It's nothing personal."

I can hear Oura's voice in my head. _You're going to let this skinny bitch kill us off? _I wave my arm. Rebecca is sent to the ground, sliding almost off the roof. She tries to get up. I spread my fingers apart and keep her pinned to the ground.

"I don't know what your problem is," I say. "But you can't just run at people with swords—" the school bell rings. Lunch period is over. "—and you can't make people late for class." First time in six years.

"She told me you are harboring Oura," spats Rebecca. "She told me to kill you."

"Who told you?" I ask. Someone has frequent flier miles to crazy town.

"Aw dude, I bet I know who she is," says Clara, peaking out from behind the air vent. "You know how you're like that black hair girl and that other girl? Well, this chick is probably that other girl that you were talking about. You know, the one that kinda killed you and all and—" A sharp pain in my leg drops me to the ground. Rebecca has broken free and has a knife. Girl really came packin' to kill me.

Clara demonstrates an ounce of courage and runs out from behind the air vent and kicks the sword off the roof. I'm not sure she did this to help or to watch the vice principal's sedan's windshield shatter down below.

I painfully lift myself up, hobbling and trying to press my weight on my good leg. Blood is dripping down my calf and getting my sock wet. It's a weird feeling having only one foot wet and the other dry.

"Armor of the Moon…transform now!" Rebecca screams, her voice echoing and sending shock waves across the roof. Silver and blue ribbons of light surround her. The lights quickly disappear to reveal the Armor of the Moon, just as it appeared in my dream. It is creepy how much Rebecca looks like Becka. You would think I would have caught on quicker as to who was feeding the blonde chick crazy information about killing me. Their names are practically the same. How unoriginal.

"Armor of the Sun…transform!" Nothing. I shake my transformation hand and strike my pose harder.

"Armor of the Sun…transform!" Nothing. Rebecca laughs. She aims her bow and holds the silver arrow steady, straight for my heart.

"Nothing personal," she says again.

_Let me in, Rinifi. Let me stop her. She's going to kill you. I can stop her. Let me in. Let me take over. I promise I'll give your body back when I'm done. _

I feel my body become lighter and lighter, like someone is holding me up against gravity on a set of strings. I can feel Oura begin to take control. My senses are on overdrive. I can hear the conversations of the cafeteria staff smoking across the parking lot. I can smell the garbage truck driving pass the school. I can hear Rebecca's heart beating. I can hear a voice in her head. I recognize the voice, but not because I heard it in my dream. I recognize it from centuries ago. The voice brings anger in me like I have never felt before.

Rebecca lets the arrow fly. I watch it hurl in the air.

_Move! Let me move! _

I won't let us move. I rather be killed off, knowing I took Oura down with me, than to have Oura slip out and harm the ones I love. Tears slide down my face. So this is how it ends. I close my eyes.

I open them after I hear the clanging noise of something hitting the silver arrow. Rebecca is dumbstruck. A gold arrow lies near my feet.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Update. So I am not dead. Rebecca is crazy on sweet Moon Armor power or whatever. Clara is not dead and is in an intimate relationship with an air vent. The Ronin Warriors are here to save us from Rebecca. I was under the impression that the Moon Armor and whatever chick wielded it would be my friend. This is not the case. Yes, I am stuck in an internal monologue as I watch Rebecca reload with another arrow.

I am now being gently carried out of harm's way by Kento like a sack of potatoes. Rebecca fires an arrow at us but misses. Surprise surprise, being jumped by a big cat can mess with your accuracy. Rebecca throws Whiteblaze to the side and draws the two, thin blades hidden on the back of her armor.

Kento lays me down as far away from battle as he can.

"Damn, your armor is heavy, sis," he says.

"You have no idea," I reply. Or I think I reply. I am not sure my lips are actually moving or not. I think they are or am I thinking speech to Kento? Kento smiles and tells me to stay put? Did I speak to him or did he hear my thoughts? I can only handle one mind reading Ronin Warrior, thank you.

Ryo and Sage duel with Rebecca. Cye lifts me off the ground and makes me sit like a human, not a sack of potatoes. Rowen fires arrows over head. Police are now gathering in the parking lot. Students are fighting to see a glimpse of what is happening on the roof.

Cye asks me if I am all right. I tell him I don't feel well. Oura is still chatting away in my head, delighted that Rebecca may get hurt. I agree with her. Scary.

"Maybe you should get off your fat ass and help them finish her off?" asks Oura.

"Maybe you should shut up for once," I reply. I immediately apologize to Cye who is doing his best impression of an emotionally hurt kitten.

"Oura is still in head," I explain. "She won't shut up. I have a feeling that girl over there has Becka in her head like Oura in mine."

Kento goes flying back, leaving a human size dent in the air vent. Cye leaves me to help him. Rebecca is fighting back and winning. The guys will need to call upon the Inferno armor to stop her. We will be here all day. And I still have papers to turn in.

And the guys do just that. Only this time, the Inferno armor's attack is blocked.

"They won't be able to stop her," whispers Oura. "We're going to have to stop her." I silently nod. Energy returns to my body. The armor is no longer heavy. I lift myself up, knowing I am going to have to do something to stop Rebecca. What? I have no frickin' idea.

Rebecca strikes down Ryo. The rest of the guys watch, amazed and stunned. What could they do? They gave up their armors to the Inferno armor.

"Rinfi…let me out," Oura whispers. "I am not supposed to be here…let me stop this…let me out…Rinfi."

I am teleported to another place, a room deep in a temple. Candles, mirrors and colored glass surround two people talking in low voices. I walk closer to see them and recognize them immediately. It is Oura and Kindra as teenagers, shortly after receiving their armors.

"I don't understand, sister," says Kindra. "Why would she do something like that to us?"

"Because she isn't our mother anymore," replies Oura. "You are not to speak a word of this to Becka."

"But she ought to kno—""

"—what? Know what? She won't believe a word of it. She'll think I'm lying to her. You know that. I need you to keep this between only us. Do you understand?"

Kindra, clearly upset about keeping secrets between her sisters, nods her head.

"What are you going to do?" she asks.

"Mother is still out there…somewhere. I can feel her. I'm going to find her and confront her. I need you to keep an eye on things while I am gone. Can I count on you, little sister?"

"Why do you trust me?" Kindra asks.

"I will forever be remembered for my power and your sister for her paranoia," says Oura. "You are the only good left between us."

Oura disappears from the room. Kindra lowers her head. Becka enters the room from another door.

"What are you doing in here?" she asks.

"Nothing."

"I knew it. Oura is up to something, isn't she? I won't let her make a mockery of our gifts from mother!"

Becka storms off after Oura. Kindra is left in the room, alone. She sighs and looks at the statue of her mother.

"We used to be so happy," she hums. The statues' eyes turn red and a voice slithers out from it.

"Your mother is not here anymore," it says. A slight smirk appears on Kindra's lips for a brief second. Could I have imagined it? Kindra runs from the room, screaming for her sisters.

"We were set up for destruction by our mother," explains Oura in my head. "Our mother gave us those cursed armors because she too was cursed. Cursed by what, I have no idea. A demon, perhaps. Whatever is was, it was strong enough to exist under my watch till mother left us. I knew then something was not right.

I realized I could still see mother in my dreams. I figured Becka could too, but she wouldn't tell me. I told Kindra to keep my suspicions secret from Becka. Becka made up her own lies and secrets. The armors brought out the worse in us. I had become power hungry. Becka had become paranoid and defensive. And my little sister Kindra had become passive and worrisome.

I played the villain well, just as Becka imagined me to actually be. Kindra, who was aware that the armors were cursed, even began to believe Becka's paranoid delusions and accusations. You see…this is why we have to stop her. She won't stop till we're dead. And she'll kill your family, friends, and your little blue—"

"Then why us?" I ask. "Why possess me? Why possess her?" I point to Rebecca. She quickly glances over at me while in the middle of battle. I imagine a giant question mark hovering over her head.

"We share the same curse," explains Oura. "We share the same darkness my mother left behind."

"We don't share anything! You found me, remember? You found me out as a child."

"We share the same curse, Rinfi. Two pieces of a large puzzle. We are destined to be intertwined. You, me, her and us. Stop fighting me and start fighting her!" Oura screams. Rebecca's sword comes crashing down on Rowen.

"NO!" I scream, the word echoing and blowing though the make-shift battlefield on the roof. My armor buckles and cracks. Black blood pours out. I feel as though my body is caving in on itself. So much pressure. All I can do is curl into a ball and hold my head.

Rebecca stops her attack on Rowen and charges me, her sword held straight out to the side. Strength, anger, and frustration overcome my body. I lift my arm up to shield from her sword's blow. A clanging noise. I open my eyes. In my hand is the staff of the Sun Armor.

"Bitchin!" mouths Clara. Whiteblaze nods.

"Wrong! This is all wrong!" I yell, jumping to my feet and swinging the staff as hard as I can at her. Rebecca falls to the ground, her helmet shattering like glass. I fall back to the ground on my knees. My body tips over to the side and I lay there motionless. Something very big has just left my body. I need to take a breather or two or fourteen.

I can see the guys running towards me. Sage holds his sword at Rebecca's throat. Ryo calls back the Inferno Armor. Kento is saying something to me, but I can't hear a word of it. Cye watches the puddle of black blood change into smoke and then disappear on the breeze. Rowen lifts my head in his arms.

Beyond him, I can see her running. The little girl with long black hair runs to the edge of the roof, leaps, and transforms into a large, black bird. I can hear Oura's words in my head. We are destined to be intertwined. You, me, her and us.

"Where will you go now?" I ask with the little strength I have left.

I can see Oura, I can even see Becka in Rebecca but where is Kindra? Is she here in me, now? I feel empty. But what about the sun sign that previously appeared on my forehead. Was that Kindra, the armor, or something else?

So much mystery in the youngest daughter. How much is a lie? A fabrication by Becka and Kindra? What if Oura is telling the truth? What if she is merely misunderstood in this story?

I need that second half of the Greena's manuscript. I bet I know who found it. But does she still have it? Rebecca is already gone. A puff of gray smoke.

Far away, on the other side of the City, a girl closes her bedroom window because she feels a chill. She crawls back into bed and tries to fall back to sleep. Sick in bed for a week. Mandatory bed rest. She continues to have those strange dreams. Only when she falls asleep at this exact moment, she dreams not of a little brown haired girl but a black haired girl with big, blue eyes.

I can see this other girl as I lay in Rowen's arms. Has everything that has happened so far been the result of a mix-up? Oura, did you inhabit the wrong body this whole time?

I still cannot move. Rowen is carrying me now. We are leaving the roof. Clara is talking to Kento, probably explaining to him the events before the guys showed up. Sage does not follow us immediately. He stays behind for a moment or two and stares at the dented air vent Clara was hiding behind. I see nothing there…and this worries me.

I sense that something sinister surrounds Kindra. Had I really imagined that evil, little smirk? I feel the youngest sister has played a clever trick on her older sisters, a trick that not even the eldest sister, Oura, could have suspicions concerning it. Oura wouldn't have had the time to draw any suspicions about the youngest sibling since Becka was and still is constantly at her throat. But I have the time. This worries me even more.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

There were three armors created by the powerful priestess Myra: Sun, Moon, and the Stars. She passed on these armors to her three, also powerful daughters: Oura, Becka, and Kindra. The armors brought out the worse in her children. Some worse than others. Her daughters fought with one another till each was wiped from this reality. The youngest survived the longest of her sisters. She passed on the tale of her family to the writer, Greena, who penned her tale into a manuscript that was to be worshipped and studied for years to come. The key word there being "was."

I thought Oura had killed Greena. I was there…sort of. I thought Oura was out to harm me. Maybe is she. Maybe she's not. Now that I think about it, I assumed a lot about Oura. And now, it is empty and lonely in here. And I am here, having a deep conversation with myself. Story of my life.

School has been cancelled for the rest of week. Authorities are still trying to figure out what happened on top of the roof of the public high school. The guys have taken over my house again. I am under house arrest, again. I am allowed visitors so Clara is staying here too. She wants to make sure I'm okay. I am. And I want out of here.

Yeah, the woman and the kid have been stopping by daily with books and old tales and legends. Anubis even showed up yesterday and then disappeared. Where he goes, I do not know even want to know.

"It's been three days now," whispers Clara. "It's now or never, homegirl."

"They've got the roof under surveillance, the door guarded, and they have the cat," I reply.

We are sitting across from one another on the floor of my bedroom. We are whispering because one of the guys is on the other side of the bedroom door. We don't know who but if we check; they'll know we're on to them. We are planning on bailing tonight. No idea how but it is going to happen.

Clara has heard from a friend of a friend's cousin's boyfriend that Rebecca lives on the other side of town, right on the school district line. If we haul ass tonight, we could spy on her and make it back here before morning.

My folks are currently off on a business trip. More like a "yay, the older kids are home to watch the little kids while we go on a mini-vacation" trip. Just five guys, occasionally a woman, another little kid, an ancient guy, a tiger, and the Rei Fuan siblings. Why is it that when family members leave the house, more people show up to refill the house?

A light bulb goes off in my head. My bedroom light shines a little brighter for a moment.

"Nice visual representation of the formation of a new idea," says Clara.

"We need outside help," I whisper.

"Who?"

"The crier."

"WAHHHHHHHHHH!" screams Chun Fa through the upstairs hallway. Kento is close on her tail and Cye is close on his tail. Sage is now walking up the stairs to observe the commotion. Ryo and Rowen, the boys without siblings, are safely staying in the living room downstairs. Sage soon rejoins them.

"I can't see the tiger," whispers Clara.

"He's either with Ryo or in the backyard," I reply. "We stick to the window and avoid the roof, we should be okay. We have to hurry though; she's almost out of steam."

Clara and I are watching as much of the bedtime drama as we can through the small crack opening of my bedroom door. For five bucks, three pixie sticks, and a promise to the park, Chun Fa can do the little sibling distraction work that Mei Ryu and Yun would charge 50 bucks for now.

Dressed in our makeshift ninja disguises (any piece of black clothing I had in the room), we quietly sneak out the bedroom window. I float us down to safety and then we are gone. We pull our hoods tight over are heads. It is a little chilly tonight. And we got some serious walking to do.

Once we hit the city, we catch a bus to Rebecca's side of town. Our plan is simple: spy on her and see if she has the second part of Greena's manuscript. I am even more curious now as to what is written in it. I haven't had any dreams I could recollect since the fight on the roof.

Rebecca lives in a pretty expensive apartment building. But even expensive apartments have fire escapes. We do not know which apartment she lives in so we climb the fire escape as high as we can, looking for any signs of Rebecca. Nothing.

"We probably should have thought this out more," sighs Clara as we reach the top of the fire escape. "This is so much easier in video games."

"She has to be here," I say. "Let's try the other side of the building. I did not come this far to leave empty handed. I know she has the manuscript."

We walk across the roof to look for the fire escape on the other side of the building. Something sparkles and catches the corner of my eye. I quickly turn around to find nothing there but an anxious feeling in my stomach or too much Diet soda.

"What is it?" asks Clara.

"I think we're being watched," I reply, still scanning the roof for anything suspicious besides us.

"It isn't Rebecca. She would have attacked us by now," says Clara.

"Oh, it isn't Rebecca," I say, staring at the rooftop door or rather, what is crouched on top of the cement doorway entrance/exit.

A girl, also all dressed in black (actually looks ninja legit), stares at us with her big blue eyes. Her long black hair blows slightly to the side from the chilly night's breeze. If she didn't just blink, I would think her a statue.

"Oh great," exclaims Clara, throwing her arms up. "Here we go again. Can't we for once be able to break and enter into someone's home without another bitch already breaking and entering?"

"So you are the little reincarnation of Kindra?" she says, quietly leaping from the doorway and landing in front of us. Her voice is soft and mesmerizing. Just like her, big dolls eyes. I don't recognize the girl from school. She may be a year or two younger than us.

"Let me guess," I say, trying to sound assertive and in control of the situation. "You are Oura's little human."

"Part of me, anyways," she replies. "But you changed all of that when you threw Oura to the wolves and let Becka mess things up more than they already were."

"I saw Oura leave when I fought Becka," I say. "I saw her leave me."

"You saw a part of Oura. Just like you probably saw a part of Becka too," she adds, walking a little closer to us. Clara backs up behind me. We should have brought the damn tiger.

"Who are you?" asks Clara.

"My name is Olivia," she replies. "And it seems I am the only one who has some idea of what is going on here."

A strong breeze blows from the left of us. A familiar chill.

"Are you after the second half of Greena's manuscript?" asks Olivia.

"Yes," I reply. "I need it to figure out what really happened. Who to really trust. You can come too, but if you intend to fight with me, I'd prefer to get it over with now."

Olivia smiles and pulls off the black backpack she had on. She pulls out an old book.

"Damn," says Clara. "She is better than you."

"Do you want to know what it says?" asks Olivia.

"You've already read it?"

"Do you or don't you?" she asks again. The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach returns. Something not good is written in those pages. I have a feeling it is something about me or what I am turning into.

"Give me the book, Olivia," I command, doing my best to remain calm. My body is still sore from the battle on the school's roof and who knows what I can do now that Oura has left my body.

"Take it," replies Olivia, her voice now deeper and darker. She holds the book out just far enough so I would have to reach for it. "You want it so badly then come and take it." Clara grabs my arm.

"I don't like this, Rinfi," she says. "Something ain't right about her. No one gots eyes that big."

I reassure Clara with a pat on her hand and walk closer to Olivia. I am afraid. Clara is right. Something is off about this girl. Maybe Oura is now in her. But Olivia said only part of her is Oura. Which means someone else inhabits the other part of her. I take the book from her. No fight.

Olivia sighs a big air of relief after the book leaves her possession. I can feel something very heavy about the book. There is a very strong presence in this book. I have a feeling no one was supposed to very find this manuscript.

"Thank you," says Olivia. "I did not want to carry that thing anymore." Her voice is back to normal. Soft and kind.

I examine the book. Rebecca didn't open this thing and Olivia certainly did not.

"How can you know what is in this manuscript?" I ask. "This hasn't been opened."

"How would I know what is written in it?" replies Olivia. "I have just been following you."

"Hold on, homegirl," says Clara. "You just said like seconds ago that you knew what was in this book and then you egged Rinfi on to take the book from you." Olivia looks surprised but not too surprised.

"She comes out sometimes, doesn't she?" I say. "You can't really control it. It's like watching a TV episode with you as a character. You're just a part of the audience."

"I—I should go," stammers Olivia. She flips back onto the doorway and then flips into the night, disappearing in black ribbons.

"I would say that was odd but from what I have seen in the past couple of days that was rather normal," says Clara.

"We should go," I say. I can see it in my mind. Becka is waking up from a weird dream about three little girls watching their mother paint a beautiful painting of them. Rebecca then wakes up with an uneasy feeling. She lifts the mattress of her futon and pulls out the long box she keeps hidden under her bed. She opens the box and screams. It is gone. They must have taken it. She is going to kill them.

Fortunately, Clara and I are blocks away when we feel the scream scratch across our backs. The windows of the store next to use form little cracks and then shatter into larger ones.

"Didn't they just get done cleaning this place up?" sighs Clara, holding the manuscript close to her chest.

"Run Clara."

"What?"

"Run now." Clara actually listens this time and starts to run down the sidewalk. I clinch my fists and ready myself for what is running down the sidewalk behind me. I turn around to face her and—slam! I slam into the side of the building across the street. It is amazing how much my body has changed. It only felt a little like I just got body slammed into a brick building.

"Armor of the Sun…TRANSFORM!" Gold ribbons fill the street and circle around me, wrapping me in my gold armor. My gold armor. This armor is mine now. Something is different in me. A feeling of freedom and power. I am going to kick her skinny ass.

Rebecca stands in the street, fully armored. She charges, sword drawn. I snap my fingers and my staff appears in my hand. I run for her. Cue the fight music. We are about to destroy each other. Olivia jumps between us.

"STOP!" she yells. Rebecca slams her feet into a ground, coming to a stop. I slam my feet into the ground and fall over. Too top heavy.

"Don't you see?" she asks. "Don't you see this is what she wants us to do? Kill each other?"

Olivia turns to Rebecca, stretching her arm to reach out to the crazy blonde.

"Rebecca," she says. "The worst side of your guardian is being allowed to overwhelm you and blind you from your friends before you. She knows you will to do anything to succeed. And she knows Rinfi is too stubborn to let you win without a fight."

"Well, duh, everyone knows that," says Clara, returning back to the scene from her jog down the sidewalk.

"Thanks."

"Got your back, homegirl."

"Who are you?" asks Rebecca, pointing her sword at Olivia. Olivia is in black armor but she does not look like the older Oura I had previously morphed into. I am confused and judging by the look on Rebecca's face, she is confused too. A new experience for both of us. We don't know what is going on.

"She's Olivia," I answer. "She's Oura's human."

"So now we are all together at last," says Rebecca. "Give me back that book."

"You won't be able to open it," explains Rebecca. "Only Rinfi can open it."

"What?" asks Rebecca.

"Wait—wouldn't you know that, Rebecca? You must have tried to open this book." Rebecca does not reply but looks ashamed. Ashamed she couldn't open this book. But wait, why can't she and I can?

"The final half of the manuscript was written for us, here and now," continues Olivia. "Before she passed, Kindra told Greena all of her family's deadly secrets in hopes that history would not repeat itself with us and that we would be able to destroy what had destroyed her family. Only when we are together can it be opened and read and only Kindra's human and open it."

"Deadly secrets? There are no deadly secrets," says Rebecca, pointing her sword again at Olivia. "Oura started this whole thing and we should finish her now. Kindra did nothing but watch Rebecca and Oura burn to nothing back then. That is not going to happen again."

"I think Kindra was more involved in that," I say. "I think Myra didn't really leave her daughters, and I think Kindra knew that."

Olivia, Rebecca, and I say nothing to each other for a while. Olivia stares off into space. Rebecca watches Olivia space out. I stare at my feet and the concrete under them. Clara is antsy from the awkwardness and suspense.

"Oh, to hell with it," says Rebecca. "So are you two saying that we're going to have to put our differences aside and work together to destroy something bigger and more powerful than are feud here?"

"Yep."

"Yes, I'm afraid so," adds Olivia. "Though, there really shouldn't be a feud better us. I have no harsh feelings towards you and you shouldn't have any towards me or Rinfi. We are the human transports of our former selves, not our actual former selves."

"Whatever," sighs Rebecca. "Just open the book, Rinfi."

And I do. I untie the leather tie around the book and slowly lift the cover up. I don't know what I am expecting to pop out at me when this book opens. Nothing happens but judging by everyone else's faces, we all were expecting something to happen. We watch way too much television.

"My three daughters," reads the first line. "Welcome home."

After I read the last word of the first line, the world turns black and white and loud. The roaring of fierce winds blows through the street. Lightning crashes near our feet. My armor is melting off my body, now a gold puddle beneath my feet. The other's armors have melted too. I have a feeling something is taking us away from our little meeting in the middle of the street.

"Clara!" I yell over the wind. Clara is hiding behind a city postbox. "Tell the guys what is happening! I don't know where we are going, but I don't think I'll make it back before morning!"

"Rebecca yells something back, but I can't hear her over the wind. I hope she heard me. Before I can yell again to her, we are swept up in a tower of light and wind.

We land on the cold floor of a familiar room. It is the room from my dream. There stands the large temple of Myra and there stands her three daughters, arguing. We are the audience, standing there silently in our under-armor. The scene plays out just like in my dream. Becka and Oura run off and Kindra is left alone.

"I don't get it," says Rebecca. "What is going on?"

"I don't think Oura was the 'evil' sister. I think Kindra played her sisters against each other so they would kill each other off. I think something possessed Kindra and that something has been raising Hell for us."

"That's a very big assumption, Rinfi," says Greena voice. "You see before Kindra died, as I'm sure you know, she confessed toe a great deal of terrible things she had done to her sisters. Problem was, Kindra did not remember doing any of the terrible things she described to me. The last thing she remembered was this scene with her sisters. When Kindra awoke from her possessed sleep, she was grown, her sisters were presumed dead and a path of death and destruction followed behind her.

"Who's the voice in the statue?" asks Olivia.

"I do not know her name, but I do not think the voice is that of Myra's," replies Greena. "This is the proof I have of her existence, whomever this voice belongs to. I can say for certain though, that Kindra did not destroy whatever possessed her."

"So it's most likely in our world," says Rebecca.

"It's the woman in black armor," I say. "She attacked me and the Ronin Warriors on two separate occasions. I had originally thought her to be Oura. I even thought her to be Kindra not too long ago."

"Who or what is this woman after now?" Rebecca asks. "We have the armors. Obviously the armors weren't hidden in another world otherwise we wouldn't have them."

"Our former selves are hidden in another world though," I add. "I've seen it."

We are transported back to our world, falling from the early morning sky and quickly approaching the Earth below. We—I mean, I, frantically call upon my armor. I do not see Rebecca and Olivia. Maybe they are falling somewhere else in the city. My armor does not appear. Panic. I'm going to be flattened like a pancake. Flatter than a fashion model's chest. The analogies keep on coming as my mind races.

A soft blue light circles around me, and I am no longer falling. I am sitting in a blue bubble with the blue love of my life.

"Rowan!" I exclaim, hugging him.

"You really gave everyone a scare again, Rin!" says Rowan. I don't even care that his arms are actually around me. My fear of falling to my death and relief that I am not longer falling to my death overpower my social awkwardness.

Clara and the guys are there when we land on the ground.

"Rebecca? Olivia?" I ask Clara.

"No sign of them. Just saw you falling like a rock. Lucky for you that the blue boy wonder can fly," replies Clara. We exchange glances of death at each other.

I am the greeted with the sighs of relief from the guys that I am alive. Kento hugs me hard, lifting me off the ground, and happily informs me he has installed new locks on my bedroom door and window.

Sage stares at me intently our entire trip back home. I try to keep my thoughts calm and neutral. But in reality, I am anything but calm. Rebecca and Olivia are gone. There is something evil out there right now that I haven't yet encountered yet and my former self or guardian or whatever might have really tried to kill her sisters and maybe even killed their mother too. And the book is gone. Maybe I dropped it when I fell or maybe it disappeared after its opening. Whatever the reason, the book is gone. What else was written in its pages? So many terrible thoughts running through my head.

These thoughts continue as I crawl up the stairs to my room. I open my bedroom door. Yep, three new locks. Kento has really applied himself. I am about to close the door behind me when a hand comes between the door and the wall.

"Rinfi," says Sage. "A nightmare is only a nightmare when you are not in control. Good night." Sage then disappears. For a second, I think I am dreaming. And then the door dissolves into a pile of black goo. And then I don't think anymore. I know I am dreaming.

My room transforms back to the temple where I had just previously been before returning home. Rebecca and Olivia emerge, looking just as startled as I am.

"Well, isn't this nice," says Rebecca. "We're back here, again."

"There must be more to this flashback," says Olivia, touching a wall. "We can now interact with the environment." Olivia wanders the room, touching everything.

"Where's the book? You lost it, didn't you?" Rebecca asks. Bitch doesn't miss anything.

"It disappeared. I didn't lose it," I snap back. I should be having wonderful, Rowan filled dreams right now.

"Quiet, both of you!" says Olivia. "Someone is coming." We hide behind pillars of the room, watching the only entrance and exit to the room.

Kindra returns to the room and bows before the giant statue of her mother. Kindra looks older, years older. Time has passed from the first flashback.

Kindra stands and places her hand on the statue. A dark power emits from her hand and the statue slides to the side, revealing a hidden passage underneath it.

"Son of a bitch," mouths Rebecca. Kindra walks down the underground passageway. A minute or two pass. We emerge from our hiding spots.

"We shouldn't follow her," I whisper. "This has 'trap' written all over it.

"A trap?" whispers Rebecca. "This is hundreds and hundreds of years in the past. How could she set a trap for us?"

"We don't know if that entrance is also the only exit. We would get caught for sure," I argue. Rebecca places her hands on my shoulders. I place my hands on her shoulders. I believe in the animal kingdom we would now roll around on the ground till the other submits. But we do not have time for that because Olivia is gone.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Crap in a hat on a fat cat," I exclaim, no longer caring we are to be hidden. "Now we have no choice but to go down there."

"But what if it's a trap?" mocks Rebecca, doing a spot on impression of me. Do I really sound like that? Rebecca pushes me aside and starts walking down the steps. I've seen this movie before. Any second now, the tunnel will close shut like a giant mouth and Rebecca and Olivia will be trapped forever in a prison of gold and sand. What? I have a little kid sister at home. Disney movies are all that I watch now-a-days.

I glance back, looking for the impossible: Kento. I would I thought I would look for Rowen but I want Kento to be here and I am disappointed I cannot find him in this dark and possibly deadly room. I need my older brother here. I need that false sense of security that only an older, stupid brother can give a smart younger sister. And I need—

"Hey! Fat girl! You coming or what?" asks Rebecca at the bottom of the stairs. I hate her more than ill-fitting skinny jeans.

"I'd tell you to keep your pants on but from what I've heard around school, I'm a little too late," I reply, bravely walking down the stairs. Rebecca laughs and I smile. I hate her and she hates me. Hence, we are sure to become the best of friends. I silently agree to kill Olivia after we find her and escape this nightmare.

We are in a long and winding tunnel made of stone. There are no torches or lights but somehow, we can see the path ahead of us. Rebecca and I do not speak. We can only hear the clicks of our steps and our own breathing. The tunnel turns to the right and we can see a light coming from around the corner. Rebecca and I both slowly turn the corner, not sure what we are expecting. I clinch my fists, ready for a fight. Rebecca holds her breath.

No enemies or monsters are around the corner. I release my fists and rub my sore knuckles. Rebecca takes a deep breath in and sighs. We are standing in a very plain and simple room. The room is modeled after the room of the temple we descended from. Olivia is standing in front of a pool of water. The pool defies gravity and runs up part of a wall. The water does not reflect anything in the room and glows with an eerie light like something sinister is behind it and playing with a flashlight.

I tap Olivia on the shoulder and immediately jump back in case her head spins around or something. Rebecca must watch the same horror movies as me because she jumps back too. We both punch each other on the arms for stepping on each other's feet.

"This is it, you guys," Olivia says. "This is where it all happened." Olivia still has not turned around and I'll be damned if I'm the one suckered in to go and face a potential monster or demon or possessed skinny chick.

"Where what happened? What are you talking about Olivia?" I ask.

"You can't just run off like that. We have to stay together," adds Rebecca. I cough. Since when do we stick together?

"This is where the two worlds connect," Olivia replies. "This is where Oura and Becka died. Well, they didn't die. They just stopped existing in our world. This is the evil of Myra and the creation of Kindra. This is where our former selves went to die. Oura and Becka just got there a little faster than their younger sister."

"We need to get out of here," I mouth to Rebecca. Rebecca nods in agreement. Olivia is freaking us out and I cannot tell if she is breathing.

"We need to get out of here, Olivia," Rebecca calmly says, tapping Olivia on the shoulder. "We should come back with the others. If this place really is that evil, we'll need some backup, right Rinfi?"

"Yeah. Umm…we should go," I agree. Olivia slowly turns around. I get the heavy, uncomfortable feeling I felt when Olivia first gave me the second half of the manuscript. There is something unnatural coming from her. Rebecca takes a step back. She can feel it too.

"Olivia, we need to get out of here," I say again, mustering some courage and ready for a fight with whatever or whoever is affecting the girl. Olivia's head leans back a bit and then we can feel the weight being lifted from her shoulders. Rebecca and I both grab her and keep Olivia on her feet.

"You know what I just realized?" I ask.

"I bet it has something to do with us seeing Kindra walk down here and we haven't seen her yet and this is a dead end room," Rebecca replies. A loud scream echoes through the room. The wall explodes with water. We cannot run fast enough while carrying Olivia. We are swept off our feet and pulled into the pool of water of the room which now acts like a giant black vortex, pulling us out of this world and into another.

You see, I sort of know where we are going as we slowly fall like puppets without strings into the vortex. We cannot speak. We cannot move. Our bodies are pretty much lifeless. Rebecca and Olivia look like they are asleep. I'm the only one with my eyes still open. The darkness is not as terrifying as I thought it would be. It's rather comforting. I can't see my end, my doom, or the monster on the other side waiting to eat us. I watch way too many late night horror movies.

Olivia is right. This place is not death but another realm of existence. I have already visited parts of this realm in my dreams. I can't hold on much longer. I close my eyes.

When I awaken, I am lying on my back in a field. The sky above my head is blue and white with clouds. There is a slight breeze. Rebecca and Olivia are gone. I lift myself to my feet. My body is sore. No duh, being pulled into vortex will do that to you.

"I imagined you would be taller," she says. Her voice is small, soft, but there is a hint of something dark and sinister under her words. Kindra stands in front of me, a few feet away. The bottoms of her formal robes pool on the ground. She is close enough to speak, far enough to run away.

"I imagined a smoother landing," I reply. I'm not sure what I am to do. Can she be trusted? My gut is telling me no.

"Where are the others?" I ask. "What have you done with them?" Kindra appears to be taken back by the question. She pauses and thinks how to respond. I take a step forward.

"Your friends are in their own realms. I'm stuck with you." I take another step forward. Kindra takes another step back. "Do not try to threaten me. You can't call on _my_ armor or your power here."

"You mean _my_ armor?" I snap back. "You had your chance with it. Oura was a bitch but she was a bitch trying to protect me from you, from your mother. You think I will just allow you to be a threat to my friends, to my family? Not happening." I clinch my fist, trying to find the strength to summon my armor. I can feel the surge of energy in my body rising but it stops, unable to fully bring out the armor. I look up again at the sky. I cannot find the sun.

Kindra raises her hand and flings me back with the snap of her wrist. I land hard on my back.

"Like I said. No armor. No power," she says, standing over me. "It seems my dear oldest sister has portrayed me as a villain. You would take the words of her over mine? I am your ancestor. I am the reason you can toss power around at whomever you choose. I—"

"—You set up your sisters for a trip to the afterlife," I interrupt. "You played their insecurities and jealousy against each other. What happened, huh? You bit off more than you could chew? Your Momma's power was too much for you?" Kindra's nostrils flare and her eyes sharpen like a snake. She turns around and slowly begins to walk away. I feel a monologue coming on. I sit myself up and stay on the ground with my hands on my lap.

"Mother was going to let those two bickering idiots have claim over all that power, all of Mother's legacy. I couldn't let that happen. You've seen them. All they do is fight and argue. Mother loved it. She fed off of it. Don't you see, Rinfi? I am the product of my mother. Oura and Becka too. That's all we were to her, puppets, toys to be used in her plans for domination.

I am not the villain, Rinfi. I spared my sisters' my Mother's curse. They destroyed each other. I lived with the curse of being the only one left. I took on that responsibility. I died a human. I died weak and alone."

"You expect me to feel sorry for you?" I demand. Looks like the Rei Fuan is coming out of me. "You could have gone to your older sisters for help. That's what older siblings are for. They're supposed to help clean up the messes of younger siblings. They may be jerks but they would have had to help you. You instead took on something bigger than you and allowed it to consume everything you loved. Myra's evil split you apart. Split your sisters apart. No wonder you all are so messed up."

I can see Kindra slowly regress back to a child. She hunches over, hugging herself, growing smaller and smaller. The child reminds me of Chun Fa. My anger is no longer with Kindra or even Oura. My anger is at Myra for abandoning her children and for generally being evil. Maybe that's why we are here: Olivia, Rebecca, and me. We have to end this ancient family dysfunctional nonsense. And the only way of doing that is taking on the source of everything: Myra. And I can't do that while being stuck in another realm's daycare.

A blasting ray of sun beams down from the sky over me. Child Kindra hides in the cloth of her oversized robes. The Armor of Sun appears on me, warm and glowing. I hear and feel another blast of light besides me. Rebecca stands beside me, shining in the cool glow of her Moon Armor. Olivia face plants gracefully in front of us. She struggles with her helmet.

"Oura kicked you out," Rebecca laughs. Olivia dusts herself off. Her face is beet red.

"You beat up Becca?" I ask Rebecca. Rebecca nods.

"Child Kindra" I reply, before Rebecca can ask me. I point to the little girl now peering at us from under her robes.

"Awesome. How are we going to get out of here? We need a child sacrifice?" Rebecca says, glaring at Kindra.

"Hands," I say. Olivia takes my hand. Rebecca raises an eyebrow.

"I read it in a manga. Give me your damn hand and take Olivia's hand too." Rebecca takes my hand, squeezing as hard as she can. We are standing in small circle holding hands. Our eyes are closed, focusing all of our power in the center of the circle.

"This is stupid," hisses Rebecca.

"You're stupid. You're not trying hard enough," I snap back. Both of our hands will fall off anytime now since we are squeezing each other's hands so hard.

"I can't believe you two are older than me," Olivia scuffs. A rush of energy explodes under our feet. We are flying in the air, through the sky, through the stars, and through galaxies. We arrive back on earth, in our normal clothes, in the middle of the street, and during rush hour.

"Bus!" I shout. We scream and wrap our arms around each other. The bus swerves out of the way. Don't worry humanity, you're in good hands.


End file.
